Anansesem: Tales of a Spider
by ObsidianBlackCat
Summary: Peter Parker is wary of field trips. If you get bitten by a power-giving spider on one and end up teleported to Asgard during another, it's hard not to become wary. But Peter has a good feeling about going to the New York Museum of Natural History. It's not like he's going to get more powers or meet mischievous gods again. Right? *Complete*
1. Chapter 1: Taking in Some History

Chapter 1: Taking in Some History

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spider-Man or the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon for various reasons ranging from how I would have never given him back to Sony and, if I did own him, I would be turning this into its own cartoon and becoming a millionaire instead. Of course, I could be a lowly Marvel writer who has no say in such business deals and whose original ideas have been shot down . . . who knows.**

**Anyhow, this tale, while set in the Ultimate Spider-Man universe, is ever so slightly different. Aside from the main team of Peter, Ava, Luke, Danny, and Sam, the other teen heroes will likely not be seen, at least not now. To help keep the build-up flowing, I'm sticking with the basic characters. You do not need much memory of the series. Any events I used from the series are alluded to and you don't need to know the details. I suppose since Peter only has the one team you can say this takes place in, what, the second season? That doesn't really matter either. This is a pretty different, nearly ludricous story. Anyone can read it and catch on.**

**If you have any criticisms or comments, I take them all. Just be warned that if you flame me I reserve the right to flame back. I'll probably ignore pure hate mail, but be warned.**

**Post Ending Note: Bear in mind that this was mostly written to see if I could post an entire story on schedule. It's ended up being mostly comedic. There wasn't too much plot planning after chapter 9.**

**Criticisms are appreciated as I begin working on more serious stories.**

* * *

Peter Parker was wary of field trips. He wasn't scared, just wary. If you get bitten by a power-giving spider on one, and end up teleported to Asgard during another, it's hard not to become wary of field trips. Peter was not, however, about to let that get the better of him. This next field trip was to the Museum of Natural History. Not only was the place huge and awesome, it also had no live spiders and no crazy, jealous, half-brother gods. It also had a perfect record of absolutely no super-villain attacks. No one was insane enough to so much as think of harming New York's pride of joy of history and knowledge.

Needless to say, Peter was significantly less wary than usual as he entered the museum that spanned over twenty buildings.

He began, however, to grow weary of Sam. But then he grew weary of Sam no matter where they were.

"Dude! Do you see how tall that dinosaur is? I should grab my helmet and fly up there so you can take a picture of me with my head in its mouth!"

"Look, Ava! It's your cousins! Yes, work the growl. You want this as your screensaver? Hey, no violence in the museum!"

"I must have that T-Rex skull model. Hey, Pete, Luke, you got three-hundred each? Danny, my man, I know you're loaded."

Their class had a teacher acting as tour guide who was giving an informative commentary. Peter and his friends, unluckily, were followed too closely by Sam's nonsense commentary to hear the teacher properly. Luckily, they were coming to the part of the tour Peter had been waiting for.

"Hey, Sam, stand over there and smile."

"What? Here? What's-"

Peter took the picture, grinning as he added captions. "Guys, check your phones."

Ava, Danny, Luke, and Sam all pulled out their phones.

"Oh my god! That's so becoming my new wallpaper!" Ava cackled.

"Sweet Christmas, the resemblance is uncanny." Luke smiled from ear to ear.

"It's a glad day when one shows that he knows his friend so well." Danny only grinned, but the struggle to keep a mostly straight face was, indeed, real.

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Sam looked to each of his friends, perplexed.

"We've got to watch _Night at the Museum_ later." Peter laughed as he slung an arm around Sam's shoulders, gesturing at the giant stone head in front of them. "That, my friend, is Dum Dum the Easter Island head. You are Dum Dum, the Bucket Head."

"You're really despicable, you know that?"

"You forgot to mention that their heads are the same size."

"Oh, of course!"

"And you call me cruel?"

After leaving the Hall of the People of the Pacific, their class entered the Hall of African Peoples. It's art was interestingly similar to that of the Pacific dwellers with long faces and a certain amount of pride in portraying special body parts. Sam payed extra attention to those statues. Danny loved their use of lines in their art, and he began to add his own commentary of the philosophy of lines or something. No one could really understand it. Luke walked over to the wall of weapons and armor, trying to position himself just right so that it looked like his reflection wore the armor. Ava walked with Peter to a wall lined with religious symbols and artifacts. Near the edge of the hall, it was entitled: Legends of the World.

"Hey, look, it's a copy of my Tiger amulet." Ava pointed to a large piece of painted silver on a frayed leather chain. "Shield does a good job. They wrote here that it's the original one. 'This symbol was once thought to turn its wearer into a white tiger. Historians believe that it represented the most fearsome of warriors that fought so powerfully that they were associated with the fierce rage of the tiger', Wow, if only they knew, huh, Pete?"

She waited for a moment for a snarky comment, but none came. "Pete?" She turned away from the exhibit.

Peter was still standing beside her, but he appeared to be engrossed in a different amulet. No, not just engrossed. Mesmerized. He didn't look away even when she waved her hand in front of his face.

"What are you looking at?" she wondered out loud, poking her head over his shoulder. A mannequin head with eight eyes wore an obsidian pendant that looked a lot like a flower with long, thin petals. It gleamed like obsidian. Ava craned her neck so she could read the plaque. "'The Symbol of Anansi, found in Ghana. Anansi was associated with many things including storytelling, tricks, and the creation of the earth. He was often portrayed as a spider, or a man with spider features'. Well that explains it. Kind of. Not really. Come on, let's get you out of here."

She grabbed Peter's arm and pulled. It took more of her unnatural strength than she usually needed to push him around. She called Luke over and together they got him around a display case so the Anansi pendant was out of sight.

"So, uh, why did we drag Pete over here?" Luke asked as Peter blinked confusedly, sagging slightly in their arms.

"That's what we need to figure out. He got hypnotized or something by one of the amulets over there. Go get Danny and Sam and ask if they know about a being called Anansi."

"That sounds familiar," Luke mused. "I think my grandmother might've told me stories about him."

"Good or bad?"

"Both, I think?"

"Oh, that's just lovely."

Luke left, and Ava turned her attention back to Peter. He looked much more aware now, if not very confused. "What were you guys talking about? What happened? Ow. Why are you holding my arm like I'm about to run away?"

"First, tell me how you feel. Do you have a headache or something?"

"No, I feel like I was dozing off, but I never fall asleep standing." Peter frowned. "But I must have fallen asleep. I had some weird dream."

"What was it about?"

"I don't know. I don't remember. There might have been . . . something. Something big, and beautiful. Something . . . a web!" Peter's face brightened when he remembered, but fell when he realized what he had said. "Did I just say that a web was beautiful? Please tell me what happened."

"Relax, I think a half eaten gazelle is a work of art." Ava proceeded to tell him exactly what she had told Luke. It was the only info she had aside from Peter's vague memory of a dream about webs.

She hadn't even properly explained what the plaque had said when Luke came back with Sam.

"Where's Danny?" Ava demanded. "He's the one who knows the most about this stuff."

"He's looking at the amulet. We may have a problem. He says it's emitting some sort of energy now."

"Dude, you can't even look at something without making trouble."

Peter glared at San, but only halfheartedly. "Speak for yourself, Buckethead. It's probably time to tell Fury though. Do you think I should leave the room or something?"

Ava leaned to the side to get a look at the Anansi amulet again. She didn't have supernatural sense, or spider sense, but she did have common sense. "That might be a good idea. Mrs. Cawling is getting ready to move to the next room anyway. Sam, go get Ms. Hill."

"Who got hypnotized and made you team leader? Oh wait-Ouch! I'm going, I'm going. Yeesh."

They entered the Hall of Birds, pushing past tourists, students, and the thousand other visitors until they reached a vacant bench on the other side of the hall. Ava and Luke all but forced Peter to sit on the bench.

Ava looked around. The tip of an elephant's trunk was visible past the balcony. An ostrich was staring at them. Aside from that, any weird conversations of magical spiders they had would go unheard by the crowd. She called Director Fury and debriefed him about the situation. She then vowed to bite the head off of anyone else who dared to ask her to tell them everything that happened.

A few minutes later, Sam, Danny, and Maria Hill joined them. Maria was their official Shield chaperone. She was the one who made sure that her superhero students were safe in the fray, and that the rest of her students ran the right way.

"What's going on?"

She was also one of the few people who Ava would not chew the head off of. Ava still delegated the job of explaining to Luke though.

"Okay, that is unexpected," Maria said, pulling a tablet out of her purse. "Shield has an entire squad in here that examines each artifact before it gets put on display. If that thing is magical, it should have been confiscated. I'll look it up to see if they added any notes about it."

"Perhaps it was overlooked because it is a different type of magic," Danny suggested. He looked down at Peter. "In fact, I now recognize the aura around you as well."

"Oh great." Peter covered his face in his hands. "Just when I thought I had enough to deal with, magic pops up. Again."

"It is not a foreign aura to you, Peter. I sensed it before, after you came back from your travels across dimensions. It dissipated quickly though. Now it appears a bit stronger. I believe it is really just a natural energy for you that is usually dormant unless awakened by some outside force."

"That's . . . not much better. But thanks. I think."

"That is better, Pete," Maria said, not lifting her eyes from the screen. "At least I think it is. I've hung out with the so-called magic experts at Shield, and I think they said that the worst thing is to be possessed by something magic. Natural magic is usually less fatal."

"Fatal?!"

"Really, Maria?" Luke said, folding his arms.

"Sorry, I'm just distracted by the sheer incompetence of these so-called magic experts! There's absolutely no warning notes about that thing. One person actually wrote that it was most definitely just a harmless trinket! I'm going to make sure he gets fired." Maria looked up at them. "So this is all we've got to go on right now. Danny, do you feel like any of that energy is getting stronger? Or malevolent or something?"

"It is steady at the moment. But energy is a force alone. It can be used for both good or evil."

"Right, so I guess it's up to you whether you want to get out sick or not."

Everyone looked to Peter, who only tensed under the gaze. "Um . . . maybe? I really did want to see the Hall of Ocean Life though."

"Well then, walk through it on your way out. I've got to stick with the rest of the class. I'll see you at Shield later."

* * *

Upon arriving at the Shield Helicarrier, Peter insisted not to tell May Parker yet. He was sure that Danny was right, that this bout of magicalness would go away just like last time. If it hadn't done aything weird to him last time, then it wasn't going to this time. It was a good argument, a surprisingly valid one coming from him. Fury was used to insane plans that had the kid running off no matter how many times he said no. In fact, it might have become more than an argument. It might have become fact.

It might have, if an equally valid counterargument hadn't appeared that night.

But it was night, everyone was asleep. Peter managed to fall asleep. The rest of his team members slept peacefully in their small dorm room of sorts. The entirety of the 'so-called magic experts' in New York were asleep. Even Nick Fury slept, though the duration and location of his slumber remains unknown.

So Peter's original argument still held. No one saw the counterargument that night.

The spiders blended in too perfectly with the shadows.


	2. Chapter 2: Making a Date with Fate

Chapter 2: A Date with Fate

**Good News: I have a buffer for this story, so I know I will be able to post one chapter each week for about a month. I have a lot of fun writing this, so hopefully I can keep up that schedule.**

**I thought I might mention that Maria Hill, while not necessarily an OC, is not from the Ultimate Spider-Man series. If anyone was wondering if they had completely forgotten her, then relax, your memory is just fine. I just needed someone from Shield who isn't a principal to keep an eye on these guys. I also thought she was cool in Far From Home.**

**(Nick Fury: I knew something was up with Mysterio)  
****(Maria Hill: No you didn't.)**

**You also get to see another character who **_**is**_ **seen in the series. However, I am using a visually different version of him based off of a movie. It's all to build on their character, and because he looks much cooler. Can anyone guess what movie his new look is from? There will be a hint in a coming chapter.**

* * *

Sam hadn't had any trouble falling asleep the previous night. Sure, the magic thing with Peter was weird, but the Web Head was probably right. Nothing had happened for the rest of the day. The magic experts, who were apparently part of a subset of Shield called Mallet, could detect nothing weird about Peter. The only thing stopping Maria from getting all of them fired was the fact that magic experts, so-called or not, were hard to come by and Shield needed some people with some semblance of expertise on the subject of magic.

So, after everything was said and done, Sam was all for the idea to sleep. He used to have some trouble sleeping in the Helicarrier (technically the Tricarrier now, but most people were still sentimental for the old one) after the luxury of staying at the Parker household. Breakfast in a normal setting, staying up late because no guards were watching, yoga with May. Life on the Helicarrier was downright dull compared to that, and Shield had cool gadgets. Regardless of how he felt about the place though, spending half of the previous night chasing after Batroc the Leaper (again) and then waking up early to go to some museum was enough to have him out like a light as soon as he hit the bunk. He had no trouble at all falling asleep.

Oddly enough, he also had no trouble at all waking up.

It started as a tickle, much too soft to really penetrate his REM state. Sam was a heavy sleeper and he knew it. He was rather proud of it, in fact. He thought it made up for the extra hours he spent saving people. At the very least it beat waking up with headaches like Ava did. In any case, the feeling began to move up his arm and Sam was startled twice over as he bolted himself up, yelling out.

"Augh! Grab the curtain rod!"

"Wha-Wha-" _Thump_ "Ouch. What? Curtain rod?"

Luke's voice sounded further down than it usually did. Sam heard the rustling and mumbling of the rest of the team around the dark room. He sat stock still. "Forget the curtain rod. There's something on me. It's the tapioca monster! I just know it! Grab the spoon instead!"

"Relax friend," Danny said smoothly, the source of his voice moving with the sound of footsteps. "It was just a dream. Journeys to the subconscious are safe as long as you are strong enough to face what you find."

The light turned on, and Sam was blinded for what felt like an eternity. Looking into pure light was far worse than being blinded by pure darkness.

And then his ears were blinded too, in a metaphorical sense of course, by the screaming all around him.

When he could finally crack his eyes open without meeting burning pain, Sam looked around and joined in screaming his head off.

It took some time, but when it was apparent that the hundreds of spiders covering every surface were not going to do more than scuttle around, everyone calmed down a bit. It didn't help that there were some very large specimens around, ones that looked like they might have been Aragog's great grandchildren.

When he was no longer freaking out, Sam looked down at his body first. There was a tarantula hanging right onto his arm, another two on his stomach. They didn't move though, so he just took a deep breath and tried to relax a bit. He was already lucky that they hadn't bit him while he was screaming.

Next he looked at his friends standing in the room. They also had at least one spider on themselves, although theirs were much smaller. Danny had a large, light spider that almost looked like a design on his dark shirt. Ava was going cross-eyed trying to stare down the brown, hairy spider sitting on her forehead. Luke was dotted with little black specks that Sam assumed were more spiders.

Peter wasn't in sight. Sam could hear his heavy breathing just below him. They usually shared this bunk, and Sam had won the top one for the night. Gripping the railing, careful not to disturb the venomous spiders, Sam peeked his head over.

Peter was still lying down, but he wasn't asleep. He was the very definition of tense. Sam could understand why immediately. He wouldn't have dared to move either if he were covered head to toe in spiders.

"Dude, you're Spider-Man. You can't act like an arachnophobe."

"Sam is actually right, Peter," Danny said. "The spiders appear to be happy. I can feel it in their Chi."

Peter could only glare at Danny for a few seconds. He quickly looked away as a yellow spider as long as his face slowly crept towards his face. No one dared move. No one dared to disturb the spiders' happy Chi. It didn't take long, however, for Peter to dare.

"Getoffgetoffgetoff!"

The affect was instantaneous. The spiders scuttled off frantically in all directions.

The door burst open, revealing several armed Shield agents who promptly screamed and fell back out into the hallway. Some of the larger spiders took advantage of the open door. The others just disappeared into the metalwork. And then there were none, leaving just the humans (and mostly humas) in the room.

"Can somebody explain to me," Director Fury said through clenched teeth as he stormed into the room, "how did a thousand spiders get onto this ship and into this room without me knowing?"

One of the agents who had first appeared, a woman with sandy hair, bowed her head. "Sorry, sir. Spiders are cold-blooded. The thermal cameras couldn't pick them up. I guess they were too hard to see with the normal cameras as well."

"And how did so many spiders, poisonous ones, I might add, get here in the first place?"

"You mean venomous, sir." She flinched at his glare. "Um-well, some of them appear to be escapees of old experiments. The rest, well, many of our agents are sent out to jungles and rainforests. It stands to reason that some stowed away."

"Sweep the Tricarrier for them. Now!"

The woman and her crew rushed off. Fury sighed and turned his attention to the team of superheroes.

"What happened here?" His eye rested longest on Peter.

Peter gulped. "I don't know! I honestly don't! One minute I'm asleep, the next I'm covered in spiders!" He ran a hand through his hair, his fingers catching on sticky silk threads. "I-I had a dream like yesterday though. A web with spiders everywhere. There was whispering but I couldn't make it out."

Fury's gaze next went to Danny.

"The spiders appeared to be happy. As for Peter's energy, I feel it no different from yesterday."

Fury looked over all of them again, then sighed. "I want you all in the medical wing. I don't care if these spiders were happy."

Everyone nodded. Peter pushed himself out of bed. Sam snickered.

"Looks like they did like you," he said, pointing at the mess of silk threads all over Peter.

Peter looked down at himself. "Ew, this is just great. This better not become a thing."

* * *

The next night, much to everyone's satisfaction, saw nothing of the sort again. In fact, nothing out of the ordinary happened. After several more uneventful nights, Fury allowed Peter to return home. Confident again that nothing was amiss, Peter told his aunt why he had been away for three days. She took it in stride, as she took everything. After two more days, Fury allowed him to go on patrol again. Everything was back to normal.

No, nothing odd happened. Everything was silent as Peter and his team sat outside in Peter's backyard researching this Anansi character.

"So in some stories," Ava was saying as she looked through both a book and a tablet showing Shield's mythology files. "Anansi was the creator of the world. In others he's not. No historian or magician can agree. See, this is why I don't like Social Studies."

"It's more fun than Math," Luke said. "I remember some of these stories from my Gran. Anansi was the cool trickster type, like jesters in European tales."

"Dude, you sound like you love literature or something," Sam said from his position sprawled on the grass. His voice was slightly muffled by the book on his face.

"As a matter of fact I do. I've said that World Literature is my favorite class, like, a dozen times."

"You must say that in class when I'm not listening."

"This sounds familiar," Danny said, beginning to read out loud from his book. "'Anansi is a wiley being who will use his cleverness and his knowledge of his opponents' ways of thinking to achieve his goals.' Peter often leads us to victory in similar ways."

"I'm not always clever," Peter said. "I wing it most of the time."

Ava rolled her eyes. "Your definition of winging it is debatable. It may only take five seconds, but you always come up with a plan that is often clever. I mean, they work for a reason, right?"

"Dude, do you know how many times you figured out a bad guy's weakness so we could use it against them? Because I've lost count. You even do it in video games!"

"Yeah, but still, that's just me. I played video games like that before."

"Exactly, Peter," Danny said. "Perhaps you were chosen by the spiders for your qualities similar to Anansi."

"You mean fate? I'm not too happy with the idea of fate. Too many villains use it as an excuse to rule the world."

"Anansi doesn't like fate either. Tricksters tend not to."

Peter glared at Luke. "May I remind you that the only magical trickster we know of is Loki, and look how he turned out!"

"That's the whole point. Tricksters forge their own path no matter how small the odds! They use what they have to get what they want! Loki wants to rule Asgard, you want to save people."

"Yeah, well, still. I was just fine when I chalked up my power origin to scientific ingenuity and human error."

"Relax, we'll know more when Shield finds that Madame Web lady," Ava reassured him. "Who is she exactly, again? She has spider powers too?"

"I think so. Fury wasn't very specific. Sam was the one who went on the first mission to find her."

Sam peeled the book off of his face. "Hey, don't look at me. Fury told me not to ask her too many questions. I watched her spin a web though, so it's probably a safe guess. I'm pretty sure she's some sort of magical, spider guru."

"Hm, magical, spider guru. That's a new one," a soft voice said.

Everyone's heads whipped around to face the woman in red and goggles.

* * *

Madame Web's explanation was short, concise, and reassuring. It corroborated Peter's hopes rather than his fears for once.

No, Peter was not some sort of human effigy of Anansi. He was not going to be greeted by spiders every morning. He was not going to get any new powers overnight. Nothing new was going to happen, period. Peter was only a sort of representative of Anansi on this Earth.

Anansi had not created the universe, but he had created the Multiverse. That was what appeared when he freed all of the stories from the Sky God. Pleased by the diversity, Anansi wanted to learn about each one. So he weaved his web in such a way that it spanned every universe. But he soon realized that each universe was often plagued by hardship, and he could not save every one at the same time. In a stroke of genius, Anansi asked his grandchildren and great grandchildren, the little spiders, to go to each and every universe, to the same planet where Anansi himself had originated, and choose worthy people to bestow with his powers. They were to keep the worlds safe so that Anansi could watch the stories unfold forever.

This made quite a bit of sense considering that Peter had seen spider men and women (and pigs) present in each universe.

The thing at the museum and then the spider scare were just a one-time thing, Madame Web explained. The amulet at the museum had once been used to welcome the latest person to be chosen by Anansi's spiders. The rest of the spiders showed up to celebrate. The dreams were also like an official certificate of him joining the club.

Peter's world was not going to turn upside down. He just had to keep being him and everything would turn out for the better.

Madame Web departed after her explanation. Everyone was left slightly shocked at her speedy arrival and departure, but they were still relieved by it.

So why was Peter the only one so suspicious of the one time his suspicions were abated? Surely his Parker Luck had outdone itself too many times to make this worse. For once he seemed to be right. By probability he was far overdue to catch a break.

Imagine if he knew the truth behind all of this.

Imagine if Madame Web knew that she had told them at least one lie that day.

* * *

At the same time, in a building not so far away, a man looked up from his paperwork. He was currently a business man, though he would tell you he always was one. It was the top floor he stood on. It was the highest position that he held. It was his appearance that made all of the previous facts hard to believe.

His jet black hair was gelled into spikes. Coupled with his long, black leather jacket and smooth face, he looked like your average goth punk rocker. His green eyes, however, sparkled with the wisdom and curiosity of someone, something much more.

As he sat lost in thought, those green eyes gazed out of the massive window directly in front of his desk. It overlooked all of the best of Manhattan. Such a view was not one to be downgraded to a backdrop for him and his desk. It was a view exactly for this purpose, to watch and ponder.

He had been pondering this development since it had developed a few days ago. He had sensed an ever so slight surge in Radical Power. This was exciting because Radical Power was the only power in the universes that was not tied down to fate. On the contrary, it was the only power in the universes that could change fate.

If the man behind the desk were a Fate or a Scryer he might have been terrified by the rise of another Radical. But he was neither. He was himself a Radical, and so the idea of a kindred being was fascinating. Perhaps had it been anyone else he would have been ecstatic. However, his priors with the Spider-Man brought some caution. Granted, they should have also made him realize the boy's potential sooner, but then he had been too bitter to really think about it.

"My, my," said the man softly, a grin beginning to grow on his face. His voice was as young and gleeful as his face. "What do we have here, playing out right here in New York? Hm . . . this could be interesting."

He referred to the scene he was watching. His eyes may have been looking at the window, but the gorgeous skyline was not what they were seeing. Instead he used a simple tracking spell and a small drone (magic and technology worked quite well together if one was only brave and intelligent enough to try). And so the scene unfolding before his eyes was that of the prestigious Madame Web explaining the young Spider's role. The man wanted to laugh, and indeed, he did. It was his office after all.

He may not know much about this Anansi, but he was quite familiar with the power. It was far more powerful and incredible than that woman knew.

Alas, Madame Web was only a vessel of tales, a watchful eye. Her relation of Anansi and the little Radical Power bestowing spiders may have been true, but she didn't truly understand the significance. A guarantee of at least one Radical in each universe was astounding. The man would have to look into that. But for now he had Spider-Man to play with. Once he understood the Spider's nature, he would be better prepared for such forays into the other universes.

He pressed a button on his desk. "Alyssa, are you still there?"

"Yes, sir."

"Please set a reminder for . . . oh, I don't know. Let's say six months from now. No, seven."

"Of course, sir. What shall I remind you of?"

"Put down: a date with fate. I shall know by the irony of it."

"Yes sir," Alyssa responded. She did not question the mysteriousness of the reminder. She wouldn't still have the job if she did. "Is that all?"

"Yes, that is all for now, my dear." The man went back to his staring, but quickly pressed the button again. "Wait, one more thing, Alyssa."

"Yes?"

"Set some things into motion so I can take some time off in seven months. Why don't you set yourself up to be CEO for then?"

"C-CEO, sir?"

"Well, acting CEO of course. But if you do well I might take a permanent vacation."

"Oh, well, okay sir. Yes. I'll get right on that."

The man returned to his ponderings again. He was no oracle, but he was a man who knew the people. He had manipulated them for many years now. Yes, seven months was the perfect amount of time before he approached the boy with so much potential.

In the meantime he would consider all the fun he could have when the time comes.

Loki was always surprised by how many new and amazing things he learned on the mortal plane of Midgard. And this surprise was most pleasant.


	3. Chapter 3: Ditching a Date with Fate

Chapter 3: Ditching a Date with Fate

**Fun Fact! The thing about Bluetooth in this chapter is true.**

**Rex Vong Thrawn: As to your first question, there might be some insinuations, but nothing much or even serious. As to your second question, this story probably won't cover that, but I am writing a Homecoming based tale that will. Look out for it. I'm hoping to post it in a few weeks**.

* * *

Time is most definitely relative. Seven months to a man in prison is eternity. Seven months to a child in middle school is forever. Seven months to a college student rushes by as quick as those homework deadlines. Seven months to a crime-fighting teenager in a fairly prestigious high school who tries to keep his grades up? That's getting close to the speed of light. It sometimes seems like one week they're celebrating Halloween and the next they're up to the Christmas special.

Seven months to an impatient God of Mischief? That's somewhere between the prisoner and middle school child analogies.

If Loki is so impatient, one may ask, then why did he literally schedule his 'meeting' with Peter seven months from the time he first learned of his Radical potential? The answer was what he reminded himself of each and every day. He was no Fate, but he had connections. Friends and foes and friends of foes. He had been fairly certain that a certain acquaintance would reenter the chaos scene during that time.

And since that one time he actually got Thor into that wedding dress when he was so sure his half-brother would say no, Loki was usually right in his predictions.

So, just as Loki had figured, the Goblin was back a little before the seven-month mark, and he was just as insane and extravagant as ever.

Loki didn't particularly care about the Goblin's plan, nor did he actually understand it. But it was sure to be big and dangerous and just the right thing to see how much Radical Power Spider-Man had. If it was enough, then Loki could really have some fun. If not, he would probably just arrange for the kid to go to some fateful events and muck things up a bit. At the very least Loki could get another few million viewers on YouTube if the Spider-Man acted as oddly as he normally did.

Loki did respect meddlers. He couldn't well dislike them when he was one anyway.

In any case, Loki was sitting in on a meeting with his executives discussing one thing and another (no one, not even his employees, was entirely sure what the purpose of Low Key Enterprises was) when his phone alerted him of Goblin's resurgence.

Long ago he had connected his phone to Shield's computers. It only took about five minutes. After all, using computers with the power of Bluetooth was just begging for a Norse god to hack into their system. Especially when Loki had met the original King Bluetooth centuries ago. He hadn't even had to use his special version of the King's rune, but it made the short ritual that much more fun.

All he had to do now was watch this unfold.

Hm, the Goblin was a bit early though, and going glassy-eyed during a meeting wasn't good for his repertoire . . .

"You know what guys? Let's celebrate this-what-were-you-blabbering-on-about-increase in our stocks! Alyssa! Order up some champagne. The whole building can party!"

And in the ensuing confusion and madness, Loki teleported away to get the best view of what was sure to be a fun show.

* * *

Things weren't looking good for our team of teenage heroes.

Things were looking worse for Goblin's plan-making skills.

"Wait, back up. So you're kidnapping these politicians so you can threaten other politicians into changing some laws around so you still have custody over Harry and can do whatever you want with him like turn him into your own little goblin so that _then_ you can take over the world and train Harry to be a great businessman?" Peter asked incredulously as he dodged another missile. "Did I miss anything?"

"Yes, the part where we kill you. Although I'm sure my son won't mind if I do that right now." The Goblin threw a handful of small bombs at Spider-Man who jumped away before they even hit the ground.

"That's, like, the worst plan in the history of ever," Sam said, trying to shoot the hoverboard out of the sky. "I don't know if even future you can outdo it."

"Just because the genius of my plan eludes you-"

"Dude," Luke said, throwing a large piece of rubble at the Goblin. "The craziness of that plan eludes _you_."

"Perhaps you should meditate to clear your mind of the complex. A simple plan is the best plan," Danny advised, stopping another wave of projectiles with his fiery fists.

"Will you guys stop trying to help him improve his plan? It's better for us when it's already impossible," Ava complained as she carved a large gash into the hoverboard, causing it to wobble in the air. The Goblin crash landed on a news van.

There had been a meeting at town hall just less than an hour ago, one of those important ones that attracted a lot of attention. While everyone was leaving, Goblin had taken the opportunity to corral several business suit-clad men and women. He might have gotten away with them too if it hadn't been for those meddling kids. But even with Peter and his team keeping the Goblin in place, there was still a lot of people and vehicles around, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep them safe from Goblin's increasingly furious attacks.

Thus, Peter had known it was inevitable that some people might get hurt, even killed.

That didn't stop him from doing everything he could to prevent that.

Of course, that also didn't mean that his own plan was any less impossible than the Goblin's.

The Goblin jumped out of the crushed remains of the van before they could converge on him. He grabbed the remains of his hoverboard and pulled something out of it. Judging from his manic grin, it was some sort of weapon, probably a powerful one at that. Peter told his team to take it away as soon as possible. That was easier said than done. No one could get close enough, and when they did they were kicked or punched aside. As the Goblin gained enough time to aim it at the group of politicians, Peter lunged forward desperately, firing his webs to try to pull the weapon away.

"Some people may debate whether politicians are human, but I think every life counts, Gob-Ouch!"

Peter's spider sense exploded as he was thrown roughly to the ground. The Goblin's gnarled foot was on his chest, and the weapon was aimed right at his head. Peter tried to fire his webs, but they were empty. He had used too much during his last few attempts.

"Is that so, Spider-Man? Well then, let me ask you this. Are their lives worth more than yours? I only offer this deal once: you or them."

"Don't do it!" nearly every one of his friends shouted. That wasn't very helpful, Peter thought. Don't do what? Don't choose to be killed? Or don't let all those other people die? He obviously couldn't let the Goblin kill everyone. That was too ingrained into him, too deep in his moral subconscious. People didn't deserve to die. Ben didn't deserve to die. Some might argue that Spider-Man didn't deserve to die, even Peter thought so, but he knew he would kill a part of himself if he let anyone die just so he could live. It was just something he had to do. Dozens of husbands, wives, and children mourning was so much worse than his few friends and family getting upset at his heroics.

Right?

Adrenaline was not the best thing to have in his system when he was trying to think rationally.

"We both know you would choose me anyway," Peter said defiantly. He wasn't about to go out as a wuss.

The Goblin's grin grew wider. "Yes, you're quite right. I was just wondering what you would say. How good you are, willing to protect until the end. Any chance that you'll change your mind if I tell you that this laser is built to be especially painful?"

"That doesn't matter. It's still death either way." Peter struggled to find something funny to say. He was Spider-Man. His last words had to be funny. Last words. He was going to die. That three letter word was almost meaningless. He was going to not speak again. He was going to not think again. He was going to not be around, period. Spider-Man was okay with that. He had known it would come eventually considering what he got involved with. Peter wasn't as sure. But they were one and the same. Peter knew that dying was what he expected his brave Spider-Man persona to choose, but when it came down to it . . .

Peter Parker did not want to die.

Five seconds was enough time for this epiphany. It was also just enough time for the Goblin to remove a wiggly piece that must have been the safety on the laser.

"Sickeningly charming, as always. I want you to know that, in death, you will save my sanity. Oh, and I want you to know that it also saves your sanity." He chuckled. "I'm going to kill everyone else anyway."

That was it. Those were the last words he was going to hear before the Goblin pulled the trigger. These were the last thoughts he was going to think and NO he did NOT want to die and he COULDN'T let them die too because of him and if only he could slip out from-NO-!

* * *

Ava stood stock still as she watched the Goblin's thick finger curl around the trigger. She could hear Peter's frantic pants. She had gone over dozens of strategies in her head, but she knew that the Goblin would just shoot Peter anyway if anyone dared to move. His animosity against Spider-Man was too great to let the opportunity get away. And she didn't want to shorten Peter's life by any amount of seconds.

Spider-Man had yet to give one last taunt. That was the worst sign, because it meant that Peter didn't have a plan either.

_Click_.

_Peew_.

The flash was bright. Ava blinked, and Spider-Man was gone. Not just dead gone, but utterly and completely vanished.

"NOOO!" Her yell joined more as she and the others were free to implement revenge. They raged forward, only to stop in surprise.

When Ava thought about this later, she would admit that she had seen something on the ground at the Goblin's feet. But she had been too scared and furious to identify it before moving forward.

"Augh!" the Goblin yelled in fear. He backpedaled, tripping over concrete slabs he had cracked with missile impacts earlier. After he hit the ground, he seemed to be frozen in fear. The shining black snake twisted around him tighter. Its head waved up to hiss angrily in the Goblin's face, then it dived down to bite the hand holding the laser. The weapon fell from his grasp as the Goblin screamed louder. He finally moved, grabbing the snake and flinging it across the street. It hit the wall with a thud, fell to the ground, and then it was Spider-Man sprawled there instead of the limbless reptile.

The crowd gasped. His friends gaped. The Goblin growled. (Somewhere, up on the rooftop, in the form of a pigeon, Loki raised an eyebrow and grinned).

"What was that?" the Goblin demanded. "I had him! I was going to kill him! What gibbblery flib globb . . ." He crumpled, his face smacking right into the sidewalk.

With the threat unconscious, Ava and the others rushed to Spider-Man's side. He was stirring. That was a good sign.

"Spider-Man, are you okay?" Luke asked, moving Peter into a straighter position.

Peter groaned. "Aside from the feeling that I was hit by a truck, sure, I'm a-ok. I think I have a concussion too. Concussions make you hallucinate, right?"

Sam snorted. "Did you hallucinate that you turned into a snake and saved the day?" he said.

"Since when could you read minds?"

"Since when could you turn into a snake?"

The lenses on Peter's mask became wider. "What? You mean I-I . . . but . . . what?" He pushed himself up enough to see where the Goblin face-planted. "Oh my God, we need to get him to the Helicarrier's medical wing now!"

"We need to get _you_ to the medical wing now." Ava crossed her arms. "I think he can handle a small snake bite."

Peter tried to continue to get up, but Luke kept him down. "No, you don't understand. I-If that happened, then I was a Black Mamba. It's like the most venomous snake in the world. It can kill several regular men in one bite! It might actually be enough to kill him! Oh my god! I-I only wanted to scare him and-"

"Spidey, get a grip," Luke said, shaking Peter's shoulders a little. "The transport is on its way, big enough for both of you. You know we would never leave him to die. He may be a jerk, but he's a jerk who's the dad of our friend."

"But-but-"

"Everyone will be fine thanks to you," Danny said. "The Goblin is a strong soul. He will be fine."

Peter didn't respond. Ava herself was pretty speechless for once. People didn't just turn into snakes. At least not regular people. At least not mostly regular people with spider powers. Aside from Dr. Connors' transformation to the Lizard, the only people she had seen do such things were magic. Of course, there had been that magic amulet incident a while ago . . . But why would that come up again now? Madame Web had sworn that it would lead to nothing else. Could this be something else? But then . . . what could it be?

The small medic jet landed quietly in the middle of the road. Dr. Connors and several other doctors and agents emerged to lug the Goblin and Spider-Man on board. Most of the group attended to the villain while Dr. Connors approached the teenagers.

"I saw bits and pieces on the way here, but I really need to ask. What on earth happened?" the doctor asked as he came near. He kneeled down to begin a quick assessment of Peter's injuries.

"That's-That's a very good question," Peter responded, voice much higher than usual.

"Okay, we'll get to that later. Do you feel like anything is broken?"

Peter shook his head. "No. I think my arm got scratched up though." He held up his left arm. Ava saw that there was a fairly large gash on his bicep and his forearm had some roadburns, but it was nothing serious or even out of the ordinary. They usually suffered worse at the hands of the Goblin.

"All right, we'll get that cleaned up. Can you stand?"

Peter nodded and stood. He wobbled slightly, but walked steadily. They had hardly gone a few steps to the jet when a pigeon flew low over their heads. A large spot of white hit Dr. Connors' head and began dripping down his forehead.

"That's just lovely," he sighed, grimacing. "This is why I chose not to be a field medic."

Ava frowned. She knew they led interesting lives, but they were rarely this interesting. And when things got this interesting it meant they were about to find themselves in over their heads.

Again.


	4. Chapter 4: A Friendly Visit

Chapter 4

**All right, so we're up to the first chapter to offer some sort of explanation for the madness in the last few chapters. Please let me know what you think. I realized that the explanation parts can be difficult because they're one of the few parts of fiction that's expected to be logical, even if it's twisted magic logic. It ended up being a tad dialogue heavy. Also, I couldn't remember if Luke was into science. His parents were scientists. He should know something about the scientific method, right? Well, in any case, he does now.**

**Also, that extra hint about where this Loki's image is from is in here. Whoever guesses gets a shout out in the next chapter!**

* * *

An hour after the team arrived at the Helicarrier, Peter's injuries were already well on their way to healing completely. He was, however, nowhere near to figuring out what had happened. This did not deter Director Fury's interrogation. But at least he wasn't focusing his intense questioning on Peter alone.

"So you're telling me," Fury said with some sarcasm to one of the 'magic experts' he had called in. "You're telling me that you can sense no magic whatsoever in him?"

"Well, no . . . we can't," the man in a suit and pentacle said reluctantly. "At least, not magic magic."

Fury raised an eyebrow. "'Not magic magic'? And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"We can sense some sort of aura around him, but it's different than anything we've ever seen," a woman with an elaborately long braid explained.

"You can't tell me anything about it at all?" Fury asked dubiously.

Peter and his team watched the tradeoff like a tennis match, heads turning to the latest speaker. Only Peter was sitting on a medical table. Everyone else stood.

Fury had asked them a few clarifying questions when they first arrived, but nothing since the magic experts showed up. Peter had hoped that those guys would know more, but he was quickly agreeing with Maria more and more. The only competent magical expert Peter had ever seen was Dr. Strange, but he was off in his own world of trouble (likely literally knowing him) and probably wouldn't be available for a long time.

"Um . . ." the man stalled. "We can look at our records and get back to you-"

"I can do that myself! Get out! Come back when you can tell me something I don't already know."

The man and woman fled from the room. Fury sighed, massaging his temple.

"I swear," he said, his one eye glancing at Peter. "You wouldn't be worth the headaches if you didn't save our behinds every other week."

"Sorry, sir," Peter responded meekly.

Fury looked up properly, his gaze softening ever so slightly. "Nevermind that, kid. As inexplicable as this situation is, it may actually be to our advantage. That is, if we ever manage to learn what's going on," he growled the last part at the doorway where the so-called magic experts had exited seconds ago.

"You mean if I can actually turn into a snake at will? I don't know if I want to do that ever again." Peter paused thoughtfully. "I don't know if I even _could_ do it ever again."

"Let's figure that out the scientific way, hm?" Fury said, still glaring at the door. He snapped his gaze back to the teenagers. "White Tiger, Powerman, you know the scientific method. See if you can figure something out while keeping him out of trouble. Call in Dr. Connors if you need to. I'll call up some real magic experts."

With that, Fury swept from the room. Sam and Peter hmphed at the same time.

"I can stay out of trouble by myself," Peter complained.

"He didn't mention me," Sam said.

Ava and Luke snorted. The corners of Danny's mouth twitched.

"Seriously?" Ava asked. "Pete, your middle name is trouble. Sam, you try do draw dragons in biology."

"We've seen dragons exist! We have, right? We tend to see so many weird creatures I sometimes mix them up." Sam frowned in thought.

Peter ignored Sam. "I would say to name one time I got into trouble, but you'd probably hand me a 500-page list. So what do you two propose? Do a seance?"

"It's potentially magic, not a haunting," Luke rolled his eyes. "I say we think back to the Anansi thing."

"That _would_ make sense, except Madame Web insisted nothing more was going to happen," Ava said. "Besides, what does a snake have to do with spiders?"

"Well, depending on what stories you read, Anansi could turn into a variety of animals, not just spiders."

"But that's Anansi himself. Pete's not Anansi, he's a-what?-representative or something?"

"What other leads do you propose, then?"

Ava growled, but didn't answer.

"I rest my case," Luke said triumphantly.

"Friends, do not fight. The scientific method was created to find truth, not to form a battlefield between right and wrong."

"Hey, I understood that," Sam said. "He's totally right too. You guys should, like, test to see if Pete even has transforming powers or whatever first before you can tell if it is related to Anansi or not."

Luke and Ava exchanged glances. Peter made a show of gaping at Sam.

"I expect Danny to say profound things," Peter said. "But you, Sam? That's the smartest thing I've ever heard you say!"

"I feel like I should resent that."

"So . . . now how do we test that?"

While they planned and bickered for a bit longer, a nurse came in to check on Peter's wound. She reapplied some ointment, watching the excitement with curious green eyes.

"Thanks," Peter told her when she was done. He was slowly losing interest in the debate of scientific methods.

"You're welcome." The nurse smiled at him. "So you can turn into a snake now?"

"I sure hope not. How's the Goblin doing?" He rubbed at his wrist.

"Don't worry, he's fine. His body was already working against the venom and he'll probably be raging against his cell in a few hours. Did you choose to be a snake?"

Peter shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe? I remember wanting to get away, to finally knock some sense into the Goblin. And he only ever really learns from fearing and respecting someone. And I remembered Norman Osborn is afraid of snakes like Indiana Jones . . . I guess snakes might have crossed my mind. I can't say I actually expected to turn into one though."

The nurse laughed. "I suppose not."

The argument died down. Luke and Ava agreed that Sam was, incredibly, right. They told Peter to do his best to mimic whatever he did last time. They then did their best to persuade him to do so. Finally, after Ava suggested that he could use such an ability to prank Sam, he relented.

Peter stood with his eyes closed, obviously exerting quite a bit of mental effort. However, his mind kept straying from thoughts of snakes to thoughts of thoughts.

_What was I thinking?_

He enjoyed having the power to help people. He didn't always enjoy having the power to hurt them, but it wasn't too hard to tone down his super strength. Sure, being paranoid about crushing someone made his handshakes a bit weak, but he did things like that subconsciously.

Turning into a venomous creature though . . . in and of itself that wasn't too bad. It was the fact that he hadn't really noticed what he was doing that troubled him. It was one thing not to notice that his entire anatomy had completely changed. It was another to not question the sudden idea that biting the Goblin was a good attack plan. Maybe he had still thought he had normal teeth with a normal lack of venom at the time, but that really wasn't an excuse. Spider-Man didn't bite people. What had he been thinking? Had he really been thinking?

Peter really didn't want to think about that.

Over in the corner, sitting with her arms crossed, nearly forgotten in the excitement, the nurse pursed her lips. She knew she was missing something. The boy clearly exuded a powerful enough radical aura to use transmogrification. She had deduced why it was so powerful. Yet he couldn't change for the life of him. It was as if he had no control or a block-

_Oh, well this could be fun_.

The nurse stood, changing into a man with spiked black hair, a black leather jacket, and a mischievous smile. The only thing that remained the same were the green eyes.

"No, no! You're doing it all wrong!" he exclaimed.

Everyone jumped, turning to face him, adopting different defensive stances and the same confused look.

"Who are you?"

The man frowned, looking hurt. "I know I look and sound absolutely different from when we last met, but I expected better from you." He paused, smiling. "That's unfair isn't it?"

"Guys, why does his annoyingness sound familiar?" Luke asked.

Sam glanced at Peter.

Peter rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, like you're one to talk."

"You know," the man said thoughtfully, putting a finger to his cheek. "You guys are actually very entertaining when you're not annoyingly foiling my plots."

"Great, so you're a villain who likes to toy with us. That _really_ narrows things down," Ava said sarcastically. "Anyone else agree that we should just take him down and figure out who he is later?"

"Hold your hostilities. He is remaining peaceful. Perhaps he does not wish to cause harm," Danny said.

"You're right! I just wanted to test something out. I mean, really, what's wrong with people? Everyone's always assuming the worst from Loki."

"Loki?!"

Chaos ensued in a split second. Some of them rushed forward as others were pushed back. Someone had the sense to push the emergency alert button, but Loki also had the sense to prevent such a signal from leaving the room. After having his fill of fun, Loki bound everyone but Spider-Man with the flick of a hand.

"Oh great, this is another revenge thing, isn't it?" Peter asked as he took a step back. "I swear it's nothing personal. I just stop bad guys and you keep acting like one."

Loki chuckled. "I know you only joke with those words, but you don't know how right you are. Acting like a bad guy . . . that's all I ever do. But you don't need to worry. Right now I'm not acting the part of the villain. I can act like a friend too."

With that, Loki turned into a mountain lion, swiping dramatically but harmlessly at Sam. Sam screamed incoherently. Peter gasped, and then he didn't get to say the quip right at the tip of his tongue, "And you call that being a friend?". Then he was also a cougar, pouncing onto Loki. Everyone watched as the two fought fang and claw. It would have looked exactly like a scene from a nature documentary, if the setting hadn't been a very high-tech and modern room in the Helicarrier.

The two large cats growled and yowled. After a few more seconds of intense battle, one of them began laughing. He transformed back into Loki, creating a glowing barrier to save his leather jacket from those terrible claws. Peter sat back on his haunches, growling and panting for a moment before changing back into his human self. He scooted back, away from the God of Mischief. He was already out of breath, but his breathing was coming in heavier and heavier from sheer shock.

"What?!-I-I-No!"

"Well isn't this awesome!" Loki said cheerfully. "I was right! And Odin says I'm not smart. As if I could be any worse than _Thor_."

"Did you do that?" Peter asked shakily. "The snake too?"

Loki frowned in thought. "I suppose that, on a very technical level, I did. But not really, no. I suppose you're going to want an explanation, hm? You won't just take the power as is, no questions asked? No, I suppose with great power comes great curiosity . . .

"All right, so I'll go straight ahead and admit that I've been watching you. Not in a creepy way, just in an entertainment sort of way. Your life is like some sort of TV show, I swear. Anyway, I was also watching you because there was always something different about you. I couldn't place my finger on it until that time you awakened that amulet. You, my friend, have been imbued with Radical Power, the only magic in all the realms untethered to fate. That explains a lot, actually, now that I think about it. That explains how you're able to beat the odds every single time."

"But I never had magic!" Peter protested.

"Yeah, he still thinks that magic is just extreme science or something," Sam concurred.

"Radical Power is magic, but not one that often presents itself physically. As I just said, he often saves the day despite extreme odds. In some cases, time itself seemed to go in the villains' favors, right up until the moment Spider-Man gets involved. The only explanation is that Spider-Man is not bound by such mundane things as 'the inevitable'. He can change the direction of fate with the merest of decisions." Loki grinned. "Just as I can."

"That doesn't make any sense," Ava cut in. "First off, he's not the only one who makes decisions. We contribute to the plans we use too. We sometimes do things without him entirely!"

"And how often is that, my dear? How often does he create at least the very basis your plans? How often does he realize an enemy's weakness for you to exploit? How often do you do such things, particularly in grand cases, without him? You already know the answers. I'm sure you're all very special or whatever, but Spider-Man is the only one of you with Radical Power."

"Then how do you explain how he always beats you, huh?" Luke demanded. "You just said that you have this radical stuff too. Shouldn't you be way more powerful than him since you're a god?"

Loki's cheeks turned red, and he grimaced. "Not-ahem-not necessarily. You see, Radical Power is quite possibly the rarest power in the world. I have grown accustomed to dealing with beings who lack it, who are still bound by their fates. Such plans do not need to be very foolproof. Thus, a near fool could easily-well-foil them."

"Oh my god," Sam said. "Did Loki just say something that wasn't boasting about himself?"

Loki's eyes flashed. "I am trying to be helpful here! I just expressed how rare Radicals are!"

Peter's mind began calming down enough to form coherent thoughts. And he wondered exactly what was going on with Loki. The god had always been a boastful gameplayer, just another bad guy. He was overachieving sometimes and really wanted Odin's throne, or maybe he just wanted to defame Thor. But the guy had never come across this . . . human before. Was this just another act? But for what purpose would he be so honest except to actually gain a bit of trust?

But that was all fantastical wondering. The rest of his brain was wondering about more pressing thoughts.

"If I've had this radical stuff since forever, then why am I only turning into stuff now?"

"I said that was because of me. Remember when we switched bodies for a day? That was so much fun!"

"Don't tell me this is some Harry Potter thing where you left a little bit of your power in me!" Peter buried his face in his hands.

"Hm, well that wouldn't be the first time I did that. Did you know that I wore a mask once and then a mortal found it? He was able to use my magic whenever he wore it. I never leave my garments behind by accident anymore, I'll tell you that. But to get back to your question, no. I'm thinking it was more of a 'opening the floodgates' sort of thing. Once your mind got a taste, the full potential of your Radical Power was unleashed. Not to mention that your friend is quite right that Anansi is also associated with transmogrification. I don't know how I never met the guy."

"Ha! Called it!" Luke said triumphantly. Ava glared at him.

"May I ask why you considered threatening us as a menacing feline would be a friendly act?" Danny interrupted.

"Right, that's the other thing I deduced. Being a mere mortal, Spider-Man's puny brain just cannot really comprehend this power." Loki smirked when Peter interjected with a resentful 'hey!'. "Hence, he can't master it as I can. He can only use it when his subconscious is looking for a last resort. I must say, I can't wait to see the look on your enemies' faces the next time you slip right out of the next death tra-"

"What's going on here?"

Heads turned synchronously towards the doorway. Maria Hill stood there, unholstering her blaster and pointing it at the God of Mischief in one swift move.

"Oh, don't worry." Loki waved a dismissive hand. "We were just having a nice chat."

"He's Loki!" Ava called out.

"Hands in the air, Loki!"

"Like I just don't care!" Loki did indeed wave his hands in the air like he just didn't care that a blaster was aimed at him. In all honesty, he was immortal. He had no reason to care about such mortal dangers.

Maria began shooting, already knowing it was futile. Loki literally danced away from each shot. Then he tossed a business card into Peter's lap. "Call me." And disappeared in a dramatic swirl of his jacket and a wisp of green smoke.

There was silence.

"Okay, what's really going on here?" Maria asked again.

"We wish we knew."


	5. Chapter 5: How to Save a Life

Chapter 5

**Wow! I can hardly believe this story has gotten more than 100 visitors! Thank you to everyone reading for taking some time out of your crazy worlds to read about this one! And thank you to those who have favorited, followed, and/or reviewed. I'm looking at you Death Fury. As a reader who also tries to review every chapter of some of my favorite stories, I really appreciate it. Now I see why the other authors here say reviews make their day.**

**I am still open to criticism though. If any of you have any questions now that I'm trying to tie things together, let me know.**

**Okay, I'm done being corny now.**

**The beginning of this chapter wants to be less corny too. Why, it's nearly downright . . . _serious_ . . .**

* * *

For nearly everyone involved, Loki's intrusion and explanation was both a blessing and a curse. If you asked everyone, though, they would say it was nearly solely the latter.

Maria Hill was outraged when she heard the full story. She didn't have a single ounce of trust in Loki. However, she did respect him and grudgingly admitted that he was at least a proper magic expert.

Fury was nearly apoplectic when he was told. He yelled off the heads of everyone on their security team. He did appreciate the consult though, especially since it meant they might really have a potential defense against the God of Mischief at last.

Luke, Ava, Danny, and Sam were quite annoyed that they had not only been caught completely unaware, but also that they had been completely powerless to stop Loki this time. Had he truly meant any ill will (if they were nice enough to call his said goal good will) their presence wouldn't have stopped anything.

Interestingly enough, Peter might have been the least happy out of everyone.

He lay on his bed, legs sprawled, staring up at his bedroom ceiling. Even with only the afternoon sun trailing in through his window, he could see the dried remnants of his first few attempts at making web fluid. Those had hardened too quickly to be of proper use. He had briefly toyed with the idea of using that formula as a way to immobilize bad guys in a hard shell of webbing, but it only stayed ductile for a few seconds, not long enough to go more than a few feet. Not to mention it didn't stick as well. No, formulas #8-10 had been a bust.

Peter sighed and rolled over onto his stomach. Thinking of nostalgic memories wasn't keeping his mind off of his worries. Listening to music, fixing his suit, cleaning the kitchen, reading a book, cleaning out his desk, caulking a few drafty windows. None of it worked and his aunt was coming home any minute now.

No, he had not been home for that long. He found it hard to focus, so he had jumped from project to project.

The sound of the front door being unlocked sounded from the first floor. Her footsteps walked through the living room, then the kitchen. They paused before coming up the stairs. May knocked gently at his door.

"Peter? Can I come in?"

Peter responded in the affirmative. He had already called her, leaving a message explaining that he would be home from patrol early and that he was banned from patrol for the next several days. He hadn't explained why.

May entered, still wearing her biking gloves. She pulled them off, giving her nephew a reassuring smile. "I'm guessing what happened this morning is the reason why the kitchen is half spotless?" A frown tugged at her lips when she saw the melancholy look on his face.

"You may be right, May," Peter said, sighing and burying his face in the mattress.

May sat on the bed next to him, enjoying the fact that he allowed himself to slide into her side. She had seen the video on the internet earlier. She had seen how close he had come to death. She had started crying right in the middle of the crowded bistro where she had been having brunch with her friends. It was a testimony to the good her nephew did that she wasn't the only one who got teary eyed when everyone had pulled out their phones.

For several full minutes May had been sure that at least half of New York was going to watch Peter die that morning.

For several full minutes she had wanted nothing more than to tell him again how proud she was of him, to be so selfless . . .

Then the snake had appeared, and then Spider-Man reappeared, and May had breathed again, albeit confusedly.

"First things first, I want to tell you how happy I am that you are alive right now. Are you all right?" May leaned over to squeeze him.

Peter blinked and smiled. "Thanks May. I'm fine. Wow, I nearly forgot that I almost died this morning."

May suddenly found it a lot more difficult now to hide her concern. "What could possibly make you forget a thing like that?"

Peter proceeded to explain everything she had seen on the news and everything she hadn't. He had to give a short explanation of the day he and Loki switched bodies too. As weird as that had been, it wasn't exactly public knowledge. Then he got to the point after Loki had disappeared dramatically in a puff of smoke, when Fury and Maria agreed on the same thing, though the former said it much more bluntly than the latter.

". . . so I'm on 'probation' for a while because I'm a liability now."

"A liability? But-"

"May," Peter said so quietly. "It's not just that I change when threatened. I-May, I'm not sure how in control I am when I do change."

She cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

Peter suddenly twisted around so he looked into her eyes. "I bit him! I bit the Goblin! I bit him while I was one of the most venomous snakes in the world! I would never bite him if I were thinking straight."

May stared determinedly back. "And how many people do you know think very straight when faced with a life-or-death situation? Peter, _I_ would have bitten him if I had even the smallest hope that it would have saved you. I would have wished I had venom too, to be honest. If someone pushes you too hard, it's perfectly okay to push just as hard back. It's only natural."

"Yeah, but . . . I don't want to . . . kill anyone."

"You didn't." May wrapped her arms around him. "I know this is difficult, but you are on a different level than most of us. I'll admit this is what I'm afraid of every single day. But as you proved today, you are more than capable. Unfortunately, some of your enemies are just as strong. What's fatal for a normal person is far from fatal for someone like the Goblin, I'm sure."

"But it's still fatal to some people. If I'm really not in control when I do that . . ."

"If they push you that hard it's their own fault. You don't blame yourself when you're thrown into a car, do you?"

"But-"

"Peter," May squeezed him a little closer. "When it comes to morality, the world is shades of gray. The colors of your actions mixes with your intentions. At the end of the day, I'm sure yours is one of the lightest shades of gray around."

"That's-that's not the point-"

"Yes it is! It's impossible for everything you do to have only good consequences. You've seen that already. As long as you try to do mostly good things, then you are good as far as I'm concerned. As far as anyone's concerned, really. So few people are as good as you. If the world wants your help, it can forgive you for a few mistakes."

"But hurting people! Killing-"

"You don't even know if you can control it or not!" May yelled over him, giving him an apologetic look before continuing at a lower tone. "You can't blame yourself for things you haven't done yet. Let's just see how this goes. I'm sure you'll eventually find a way to test things out. Just wait before you freak out."

Peter took a breath and smiled at her. "'In your life expect some trouble. But when you worry you make it double?'"

May smiled back. "Don't worry. Be happy."

* * *

Peter took May's advice, courtesy of Bobby McFerrin, for the next few days. But as it turned out, there wasn't a very long period before they were able to test things out and, by extension, for Peter to decide whether he really did need to freak out. Considering the world's advances in technology (and certain individuals' advances in magic) Shield quickly found a way to test Peter's new transmogrifying abilities.

The concept was simple enough. Make Peter believe his life is in danger so his body reacts in a similar manner. If his heart is pumping and his body is releasing adrenaline and other 'fear hormones', then the added magical effect of transmogrification is bound to happen too.

As Sam put it, they just had to scare Peter out of his wits.

The test was planned for later that evening, after school. Peter thus had all day to feel anxious about both the test and its outcome.

Therefore, the unexpected, accidental version of the test halfway through the school day can be seen as a benefit to his nerves if not his safety.

Peter walked down the hallway with Harry, trying to focus on their mundane conversation. He knew it was rude to be so preoccupied, but he did have his reasons. And he was at least trying to pay attention. That's what mattered. He would never just blow Harry off, or at least, he would never do it without a really good reason like having to go save the day. And today he had no such responsibilities. He was on 'magical leave'. It was like medical leave, only magical.

"Pete! I need you to save my life!"

Sam came from behind and grabbed Peter's arm, pulling him down the hall.

Peter resisted just enough to slow their pace. "What? What happened?"

"The printer's not working and I need to print out my report _now_!"

"Fine, I'll take a look. But you owe me your cookie at lunch." Peter turned back to wave behind him. "I'll see you later, Harry!"

They continued until they reached the computer lab. Sam all but pushed Peter inside.

"I'm going! I'm going! Yeesh. Why didn't you print it out last night, or at least this morning? English starts in five minutes."

"It wasn't done this morning, duh."

Peter rolled his eyes and bent over the printer. It was a fairly new model, but working for a school full of teenagers seemed to have decreased its life span. Midtown was going to get another one by the end of the school year. Until then, the more tech savvy students did their best to keep it from jamming too often.

He opened up the paper tray. Yup, it was jammed. Peter pulled on the stuck paper as gently as he could, but it began to tear. Sighing, he opened up the top flap, hoping to get the gears moving again.

Those gears were not moving anytime soon.

Somehow, some way, for some reason, someone had dropped a thin e-cigarette in the printer right where the important gears were. It was crammed and crushed by the printer's attempts to print. Peter powered the printer off and examined the thing that did not belong. It was really stuck in there. He couldn't imagine how it could have possibly gotten in there, but this was a high school full of a thousand teenagers. He tapped it.

It was hot.

"This doesn't look good," Peter admitted to Sam, who was hovering over him anxiously. "This may not be reparable. We'll need to tell Mrs. Andell so she can take a look at it, and she'll probably have to order a new one-"

"No! I need to turn this in or I'll get another F!"

"Our paper isn't due until friday!"

"This is the one due last friday!"

Peter huffed, looking back at the open printer. The e-cigarette _did_ pose a hazard if they just left it there for another hour. They were known to blow up and certain inks were known to be flammable . . . He knelt down and carefully placed his finger on it again, this time using his sticking abilities to grab it. Spider-Man did not need pliers for such tasks. Slowly and gently so as not to break any of the thinner cogs and wires, he pulled. Was it just him, or did it feel hotter the longer he touched it?

His spider sense exploded with the e-cigarette.

During certain dangerous moments, time seemed to slow down when his spider sense banged around his head and told him to MOVE or ELSE. Right now, Peter had the time to spot each piece of shrapnel and flame he had to dodge. The flames were moving up. A chunk of flaming ink cartridge was thrown to the right. The pieces of printer were flying outward. Despite his proximity, Peter did not need to dodge those little bits of cogs and machinery because they were all flying over his head.

He did need to jump in their way, however.

Peter did not need physics to know that most of the shrapnel was headed towards Sam. He might have needed some common sense to know that blocking shrapnel from hitting someone else meant that the shrapnel still hit you. Luckily for him, however, common sense, like Fate, wasn't really necessary for a Radical.

As the world began to speed up again, Peter latched on to Sam's head. He dully noted that he was small enough to do so, but that wasn't really important. What was important was that the bits of metal and plastic weren't digging into Sam's face, and they seemed to be bouncing off of Peter's back. And Sam was falling to the ground, out of the line of fire.

Time was at its usual speed by the time everything was still.

Peter uncurled from Sam's face and walked to the side. Sam opened his eyes, checked himself briefly for any shrapnel, then glanced over at his friend.

"Dude, you're an armadillo."

Peter looked down at himself. His small arms were covered in brown patches like scales, and then they weren't, and he was his normal size again. His face was now able to show his shock.

"But-but that wasn't even life-threatening! You would have lived! Maybe you might have been a tiny bit uglier if that stuff hit your face, but no one would have noticed!"

Sam punched him lightly on the arm. "I thank you for saving my devilishly good looks. I'm sure all of the girls in our class thank you too."

The smoke expelled in the blast was at the ceiling now, and the sprinklers turned on with the fire alarm. Any smoldering embers were put out immediately.

"Oh my god! You _did_ save my life!" Sam blurted out.

"How? Those pieces were pretty small."

"Not that! Everyone's going to evacuate. By the time that's all done, English will be over! Thank you thank you thank you!"

"Yeah, while also panicking an entire school. I'm never saving your life again."

* * *

Maria Hill watched every student as they evacuated. While she was officially there for the five heroes, she was still a counselor for the entire school. Besides, those five could handle themselves . . . for the most part. But the only alarm that had gone off was the fire alarm. None of Shield's systems had detected any foul play. She could trust them to stick to the school's protocol.

Who was she kidding? They hardly even followed Shield's protocols.

There was Luke and Ava. They were pushing along three of the less compliant students at the school. Maria imagined they had considered staying inside since the smoke couldn't even be smelled. Probably wanted to finish up a card game or something.

Next came Danny. He was escorting one of the sophomores, Amelia. The girl had spent much time in Maria's office; she nearly suffered from anxiety, but not quite. Danny appeared to be calming her. Were they holding hands? A smile curled Maria's lips. She'd have to keep an eye on that.

With the stragglers came Sam and Peter. They were the only wet students Maria had seen. She frowned. Shield had made sure Midtown was completely updated, including a sprinkler system that only turned on where smoke was detected. Right now that saved them thousands in items that would have been damaged by water instead of fire. As it was, it also told Maria who was at the source of the fire. She moved forward to intercept them.

"All right, you two, come with me and start talking."

They glanced at each other.

"We didn't start the fire!"

"It was the e-cigarette and-"

Maria glanced at them, outraged. "You were vaping? What have I told you about-"

"Not us! Someone left it in the printer. Pete tried to get it out before it exploded but, well, it exploded."

"And," Peter glanced around, stepping closer to Maria so he could whisper, "I-I changed again."

Maria turned her head just enough to look at him. "The fire was that bad?"

"No, maybe it was the circumstances? I really don't know, but-wait!" Peter's eyes lit up. "I looked at my hand!"

Sam gave him a dubious look. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"When you told me I was an armadillo I looked at my hands and arms to check. I was in control!" Peter's face fell again. "Oh, but it was much less dangerous this time. I might have only been lucid because of that."

"Are you sure your life wasn't in danger? Maybe you dodged before you noticed?"

Peter shook his head. "I'm sure. We've both handled a bit of shrapnel to the face before."

Maria practically bared her teeth. "So not even a god is a proper magical expert. I swear, if he comes back I'm going to . . ."

And the rest of her words were lost in the crowd's cacophony as she stormed ahead.


	6. Chapter 6: You Never Know

Chapter 6

**You'll find the author's note at the end of this chapter. I don't want to spoil anything. I also thought it might make the coming cliffhanger easier. I'm laughing manically right now. Can you hear it echoing in the rafters?**

* * *

In all honesty, Maria Hill was a bit unfair in her fury towards Loki.

Loki really was a very competent magic expert. The trouble was that he wasn't as much of a mortal expert as he liked to think.

When his phone beeped, alerting him that Peter had used his Radical Power again, Loki had been just as surprised as Peter had been. The boy was right when he said that had been far from a life threatening occasion. Loki sat there for a moment, wondering where his diagnosis had gone wrong. He found he was more than a bit stumped.

He needed a second opinion.

Loki appeared within a sleek, glass building, in a very tasteful office. He usually appeared on the outside when he came to visit Google's headquarters. It was a rather nice building, and the welcoming staff were all very nice, very charming. Loki knew many of them quite well. Except for the newbie. Loki regretted missing a chance to meet that cute little intern, Jerry, but there were more important things to do today. He approached the Head Programmer's desk and laid his hands on the man's laptop, shutting it as he leaned on the desk.

"Hermes, you are the only person who might possibly know about magic and mortals better than I."

The man behind the desk, with the winged hat casting a shadow over his eyes smiled. His dark waves of hair peeked out from beneath the brim. "Loki, long time no see. You may be right about that. Does this have anything to do with that potential Radical you were bragging about?"

"Yes. I had been a bit disappointed when I thought he could only use the power under great duress. But he just used it today with minimum aggravation.

"Hm, that is interesting. If his Radical Power is low, then his mortal subconscious should form a block that can only be bypassed by extreme emotion." Hermes frowned at the look on Loki's face. The God of Mischief had an excellent poker face, but not when he was with one of his closest pals who also happened to be the God of Liars and Politicians. "Loki, did you even check how powerful he is right now?"

"Well, er, no. Not yet." He fiddled with his phone for a minute. "Hmph, I guess you may be right. His Radical Power has increased by quite a bit since a few days ago." Loki looked back up, green eyes shining with the excitement of a puzzle. "That explains how it was easier for him to use, but why did it increase? His original boost came from me, but I haven't added anything since."

"Could he have another source? You switched bodies with him ages ago. Maybe something else-"

Loki slapped himself on his forehead. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that! There was that amulet thing that happened a few months ago that tipped me off in the first place. I assumed that it just got the juices flowing allowing me to finally notice it. I thought that, since I had never seen that Anansi fellow, he was one of those gods that never really interact with this plane except to occasionally mess with the mortals."

Hermes frowned further. "How could you possibly forget something like that? You of all people should know how power can be transferred by accessories!"

"But I checked that amulet a few days later! It was back to a useless trinket! It can't-" Loki trailed off. One could almost see the egg on his face.

"Ahem, did you consider that this Aunt Nancy fellow might have wanted you to think exactly that?"

The laptop underneath Loki's fingers began to melt. Hermes sighed. "You're lucky I back everything up on the cloud. I also did want to upgrade. I've recently started playing this online game and I would really like one of those gaming lapt-"

"Hermes," Loki said through grit teeth, "do you realize what this means?"

"Of course I do. But if I say it I'm going to crack up. In any case, our breath would be better spent on figuring out why he did that and how you can get revenge."

Loki remained still, trying to calm his breathing. Hermes had already succeeded at that; he was feeling far less calm than he portrayed.

The Trickster had been tricked.

* * *

Peter did not want to admit it, but the proper test Shield put him through after school did not work at all.

But that didn't make it a failure.

They set him up with a VR headset in the training room. The Chameleon robots were there to make it more convincing. Over the next two hours, cycles of calm and panic were played before him.

The first few times had failed to move him quite enough for any transmogrification. All the other times had too.

No, it was Peter's own will that changed him this time.

Truthfully, he didn't think he could call it his will. His curiosity was a more accurate cause. After the first few scenes failed, he had begun to wonder if it was his spider sense's fault. Aside from a few times he had been drugged or in a half asleep state, it only went off with _real_ danger. The Chameleon bots, no matter how dangerous or gruesome they looked, just weren't cutting it. They were difficult to dodge, sure, but it was far from impossible.

From there he realized that the only times he had changed were when his human form was unable to perform the required action or just wasn't the best route. Spider-Man had failed to escape the Goblin's hands, but snakes were known to slip out of tighter situations. Spider-Man would have been torn to ribbons by the cougar, but those wild cats can handle an attack from their own. And he would have had to stay in the medical wing for a while to get all those shrapnel pieces removed, but armadillos had tough shells for a reason.

The last time intrigued him. Had he really turned into an armadillo just because it was easier? He had taken blasts before to protect civilians. He had suffered the burns and the pain. Did his instincts really have the sense to unlock this magic he had to help him out, to make it less painful? His spider sense did direct him to the easiest way to dodge things. Did it now decide when an alternate form was the best defense? Could he somehow consciously decide that too?

There was only one way to find out.

The current scene was one Peter had faced before. To his eyes and those looking at the screen in the control room, the training room was transformed into the very generic interior of a bank. Civilians were held as hostages in the middle of the room, a man with a gun vigilantly pacing in front of them. The steady beeping of a time-bomb sounded like an annoying alarm clock. The ceiling was too low for him to crawl above unseen. His web-shooters were also currently turned off, so pulling the gun away from afar was out of the question. The only opportunity was when the man briefly turned to look out the window. A similar scene had played before, so Peter knew the bomb was going to go off any minute now. He could potentially handle this as is, but . . .

Was there an animal that would make it easier?

Small creatures flashed in his mind. An actual spider would go unnoticed, but would be entirely useless unless the man with the gun was arachnophobic. And Peter was not about to bite anyone else ever again, even if it was a robot. Could a squirrel stick to the ceiling? Would his sticky powers shine through? That warranted another investigation, but their tails were too fluffy and twitchy for this situation. He would be spotted. Maybe a bird? All the large birds were pretty noisy fliers though-

Ah, that could work.

How was he supposed to do this, though? He really hadn't payed attention the other times. Granted, he hadn't even noticed anything until after the fact then, but . . .

The beeping was growing louder and more frequent. He had seconds left. Sure those were just robots and the explosion would just be a flash of light but he was Spider-Man and he didn't let anyone down regardless of how his friends teased him for having a hero complex.

He jumped.

And flapped.

And glided silently.

A breath of relief escaped Peter when he didn't hit the ground. His arms were large, brown wings and they were carrying him quietly to the man with the gun. Owls' feathers were special, Peter had remembered. They allowed the bird to fly absolutely silently, perfect for dropping in on rodents, and homicidal bad guys.

His talons gripped the machine gun in the man's hands and yanked it free with a great flap of his wings. The man cried out in surprise. Peter flew away with the man on his heels. It was pretty neat to fly. Peter had fallen before, and glided, and flown jets, but he had never flown with wings.

It was still greatly unsettling to be an entirely different species though, even more so than the last few times even. Being so consciously aware of each movement, how the muscles in his back were helping pull his wings up and down . . . he felt clumsy. The initial glide down hadn't been too bad. Was he thinking about it too much? Humans didn't usually account for drag when they walked down the street. But if he relaxed too much, would he be less in control?

Peter had just gotten ten feet away from the man when his arms stopped feeling air resistance and he came crashing to the earth.

"Ow."

When he opened his eyes, the scene was gone, replaced with the usual appearance of the training room. The chameleon bots that had been huddled as the hostages stood and returned to their stations. The one that had been chasing him helped him up. Director Fury, Dr. Connors, and Peter's team came in. Fury looked puzzled, which meant that he looked a little angrier than usual.

"Did you feel more threatened by that scenario than any of the others, Parker?" he asked briskly.

"Um, no."

"Did you feel the scenario more real than the others?"

"No, I mean, a suicide-bomber bank robber doesn't make a whole lot of sense."

"Any insight as to why it happened the 23rd time at all?"

"Well-er-I think . . . I kind of chose to change this time. Maybe I'm gaining more control over it or-?"

"My god, he's figured it out by himself," the voice of Loki said in mock surprise. "I almost feel unneeded."

Everyone turned with fists clenched.

"What are you doing here?" Peter asked the man in the black leather jacket. "And who are you?" he asked the man in the winged hat.

"I'm Hermes," the man supplied. "You know, God of Politicians, Thieves, Travelers, Dogs, Dreams, Shepherds-"

"Oh hush. If anyone really wanted to know all that they can Google it. You've made sure of that." Loki rolled his eyes.

"State your business or leave," Nick Fury demanded, gun already in hand.

"Isn't that sweet! You used to just tell me to leave without even asking about me. I told you, Herm, I'm growing on them. I grow on everybody."

Hermes snorted. "Yeah, only because you can turn into fungus at will."

Fury took a step forward. "Start talking serious or you lose this one chance."

"All right, all right already. Yeesh. I'm just here to check up on the kid. Us Radicals have to look out for each other."

"It's we Radicals. Not us," Hermes interrupted. Loki shot him a glare. "Hey, I'm the God of Language too."

"And yet you invented the urban dictionary. _Anyway_," Loki turned back to the group still watching him warily. "We _are_ here to check on him. I was puzzled by his transmogrification earlier today, so I got my, _usually_, helpful buddy here to help me figure it out. We think we've got it now. We just-"

There was a great, faltering CAW, almost as if a crow or raven were laughing. In a whirlwind of black feathers, the bird appeared. Peter always had trouble discerning crows from ravens, but whichever one this was it was not normal. It stood about the size of a condor, its large, very sharp beak emitting more laughing caws.

Leaves stirred next to it. Bright and colorful fall leaves that twirled as if they danced in a breeze within the Helicarrier. A big dog appeared when they dissipated, quickly overshadowing the bizarreness of the leaves. This one Peter could identify pretty accurately. Large and a bit tan, the coyote sat.

Then both creatures stood taller and upright. The bird transitioned into a dark skinned woman in a black satin gown that absorbed all light and yet seemed to shimmer. Her short hair was teased up, presumably to resemble feathers, although Peter thought it looked more like a nest.

The coyote also turned into a tall female, this time with lighter olive skin. She wore a fur, short-cut dress with all of the coyote's colors. On her feet were fur boots to match. Her long light brown hair was tied back in a long braid that shined with golden highlights. She smiled. Behind her red lips her teeth were far too sharp to look human.

The two women laughed.

Loki and Hermes groaned.

"So," the woman in black said without needing to regain her breath. Her voice was high pitched and mocking. "This is why you asked us those 'hypothetical questions' earlier, hm?"

The two gods glared at the two goddesses. Nick Fury glared at them all.

"When I get my hands on our head of security . . ." Peter heard Fury mutter under his breath, but the rest was lost as Hermes started to speak.

"So, you're the ones who took the amulet." He folded his arms and tilted his head up, but his eyes were still lost in the shadow of his hat. "We should have known you would stick your noses into our business."

The coyote woman stopped laughing abruptly. "What are you talking about? You took it before we figured it out."

They stared quizzically at each other now. Loki stamped his foot.

"Oh, Faen!"

* * *

**Fun fact! Excuse my Norwegian. Faen means 'devil' in Norwegian, but it's used similar to *bleep*, otherwise known as f***.**

**Okay, so I'm going to admit that I surprised myself by going the Rick Riordan route. I've read a fair amount of his work, but I was never a huge fan. Yet here I am, and here Loki is, and here are three whole other gods from different cultures. And is that a line of gods with the casting agent?**

**While I'm familiar with a few mythologies, I'm no expert. I'm hoping to add some diversity, so I'm trying to read up a bit. But I am a full time college student. This GodChecker site I found will probably be my best friend until I finish this because it has some pretty good summaries. Hopefully my little crash courses will make their personalities fit, but I know how inaccurate summaries can be.**

**That being said, you guys are completely free to point out any inaccuracies. Also, if you know a god's funny story or want to see a specific god in here, let me know. I'll see what I can do. If there's one thing I thrive on it's serendipity. **


	7. Chapter 7: A Professional Opinion

Chapter 7

**I would like to thank Deanine for reminding me to be descriptive, so you'll be seeing some more scenery in the future. Also, her descriptions of fantastical, otherworldly, and creepy places in Death by Inches (Really awesome Endgame Fix-it that's perfect for Halloween) have inspired me to get creative with this chapter and the next.**

* * *

Somewhere above and below, in the higher dimensions folded around the simple third we see, a web shook.

The web was a spiral, infinite spokes radiating from its center. The edges stuck to everywhere that wasn't there, all the places that were so distant from this plane of existence. Each strand usually vibrated with the movements of the Guardians in each of these worlds. They vibrated with happiness, they vibrated with sorrow. They vibrated a bit more violently when the world was in danger. Harder still when a Guardian was nearing the end of their time. (One strand vibrated this strongly, a world that was losing half of its stories in a single day, including the tale of its Guardian.) But the entire web rarely shook.

It shook now.

It shook not with danger.

It shook with laughter.

Anansi usually didn't directly interfere with the worlds. But, _gosh_, was he having a blast right now. Maybe he would look into what he could do for that dying world later. For now, though, he laughed. He laughed and he gave the awaiting little spiders their orders.

* * *

Peter had no idea what to do.

Everyone was arguing. Loki and Hermes continued to accuse the two women of stealing their thunder. The two women accused Loki and Hermes of blaming them for all their problems. Nick Fury went back and forth between yelling at the four of them and yelling into the communicator that connected him to the head of security. Ava and Luke wanted to start kicking some booty before things escalated. Danny was trying to convince them to wait until they knew that this even would escalate to violence. Sam just wanted to watch the drama unfold; he hadn't taken his eyes off of the women since they appeared.

Aside from wanting to clamp his hands over his ears, Peter had no plan whatsoever. What really irked him, though, was that practically else in this room had plans for him, even if he wasn't too sure of what they were yet. Not even his Aunt May did this much planning and plotting without asking him first. She might fully expect him to finish high school and go to college OR ELSE, but she would never tell him which college to go to or what major to choose. And she was legally his guardian.

But of course these gods probably thought they were above such rules, that they were entitled to anything they wanted. They probably called it destiny or whatever-

Peter mentally slapped himself.

If Loki was right about this Radical business and how Radicals didn't have to follow fate, then, _duh_, he didn't have to wait around for these gods' choices either.

Now Peter . . . still had no idea what to do. Deciding that his choices aren't bound by anything doesn't exactly help narrow down his options.

But it does bolster his confidence to do whatever.

So Peter took a deep breath, straightened his spine, and began to march out of the room. No one really seemed to notice. The gods and Fury were yelling as loud as ever. Maybe Ava or Danny called out to him, but it was lost in the cacophony. Peter marched, and he marched right out of the room. The doors slid closed behind him, and he was greeted by an unexpected sight.

There in the hallway, standing tall and foreboding, was one of the last things Peter had expected to see.

The coarse, dark hair matched the darkness of the eyes. Long legs strode forward.

Dr. Stephen Strange approached Peter.

"What are you doing here?"

Strange smiled grimly. "The question is, what am I not here for? You've changed since we last met."

Peter's shoulders slumped. "You can sense the magic too?"

"I was going to say you look a bit taller, but yes. It is highly difficult to detect. I would almost say you have none, but there is definitely something there. I apologize that I did not notice during our previous meetings."

"Well, it's not like you're my doctor. I bet you don't even take my insurance."

"For a short while I shall be your doctor. I have been away on business, but I finally received Fury's call and-" An ear-splitting shriek came from within the training room. Strange furrowed his brows. "The deity in there is masking their presence. Do you know who it is?"

"There's four, actually, and-"

"_Four_?" Strange pushed past Peter and laid his hands against the door. "How are they containing their powers so efficiently? Who are they?"

"Um, Loki's in there, and Hermes I think. I have no idea who the two ladies are, but one looked like a bird while the other was either a wolf or-"

"What? The only four beings who could possibly be worse are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!"

Dr. Strange stepped through the metal door. Hesitating for a second, Peter followed in the more conventional manner of opening the door. He came in just in time to see Strange wave his hand in front of his face, his throat glowing slightly. Then he spoke in a magically magnified voice.

"DEITIES DESIST! YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CONGREGATE ON THE MORTAL PLANE!"

All eyes turned to him. Four sets of eyes in four magical bodies rolled boredly.

"By Zeus, you're right, his cape _is_ just as gaudy as Thor's."

"And he's just as full of himself."

"Who's the new guy?"

"I don't know, but I'm calling dibs."

"STATE THE PURPOSE OF YOUR VISIT OR BE BANISHED!"

"Fine, fine." Loki waved a hand dismissively. "I think I speak for all of us when I say we're just here to check up on the kid. I've said that three or four times now."

The woman with raven black hair and lips smiled. "Speak for yourself. I came mostly to check him _out_."

"Honestly, Ray, you know you're never happy with mortals," the woman in fur growled.

Strange glared at them all. His throat stopped glowing. "Let us discuss this elsewhere." Rotating one hand around the other, he opened a sparkling portal. "Ladies first."

The woman in fur laughed like a yipping dog. "Look at the itty bitty Sorcerer Supreme trying to order us around!"

"I may govern only earth, but your people have their own systems. Odin has never punished you lightly, Loki. And I doubt Mother Earth will look kindly upon your meddling, Raven."

There was some more grumbling, and some curses in long forgotten languages, but the four gods disappeared into the portal with Dr. Strange.

Fury sighed. "_Gods_. Worse than teenagers, I swear. You four get Parker home safely. Stay the night. I have a lot more yelling to do."

* * *

May welcomed the unexpected sleepover. She was apoplectic enough to rival Fury when she heard the reason behind it, but she was glad for the company nonetheless. Heaven knew she loved company.

In five minutes flat she made a tray of little crackers, cookies, and chips. In another five minutes it was almost all gone. It reminded May of when she once hosted Peter's fifth birthday party and had invited his entire kindergarten class.

"So Strange is a magical doctor, huh?" she asked as she cleaned up the crumbs. She knew at least half of them had augmented appetites, but she would spoil their dinner no more. As soon as she got her answers she would head straight to the kitchen to feed them properly.

"Well, I think technically he's a regular sort of doctor who learned magic or something," Peter explained. "He does have a rank as a magician, but I'm not entirely sure how that works."

"He's the Sorcerer Supreme," Ava corrected, daintily wiping her mouth after she had ravaged a handful of chips. "That's one of the highest ranks. He knows his stuff, and his job is to protect everyone from magic and magical creatures."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Exactly how many Shield files do you read each night?"

"As many as were written that day. I read all of the ones to date, or at least all the ones I have clearance to see. We _are_ supposed to keep up with this stuff, you know."

Luke, Sam, Peter, and Danny coughed nearly in sync. May wondered if they just didn't have the time, or if any of them had forgotten entirely. Suppressing a smile, she turned her attention back to the matter at hand.

"Well, he certainly sounds helpful. Does that mean he can really do something about those gods?" May asked.

"Unfortunately, that's a magical law gray area, right Pete?"

"Um, yeah. Strange said he could hardly call them laws so much as guidelines."

May sighed. "In any case, it's about time that someone arrived who we can actually trust. Is he going to set up wards or something around our house?"

Luke shrugged. "We don't really know. I don't think he's come back yet."

Peter nodded. "And he didn't say much before he disappeared in the first place."

"Oh, he's one of _those_ doctors." May frowned. "Well, I guess it could be worse."

* * *

Dr. Strange sighed. He didn't think this could possibly be worse.

Here they were, in his personal little interdimensional interrogation room. It was literally nothing to look at. Masses of muted purple fog appeared to define the borders of the small room. Extremely solid muted blue shapes made up the table and chairs. It was a step up from the usual set up meant to make criminals feel sequestered and alone. And it worked. Strange had seen the beads of sweat drop into the nothingness when he questioned young demon worshippers.

Today, four sat leisurely at the table. One stood with a migraine, sorely disappointed.

Never before had he had four different gods from three different planes interested in one mortal. Granted, the mortal was special, but there were plenty of other special mortals around. There had to be something Strange was missing.

"You say Peter is a Radical. While I have heard of cases of mortal Radicals, I have never heard of one quite as powerful as you believe him to be."

Raven, the Native American spirit of cunning and ingenuity cackled. "That just goes to show how much you know."

"Sister, please, this man has Mother's respect," Coyote, Native American spirit of cunning and perseverance, chastised.

"Anyone who tries to keep the peace has her respect," Raven replied disdainfully.

Hermes examined his nails in a show of boredom. His eyes remained in the shadow of his hat even as he reclined his head back. "Whatever, Strange knows he can't charge us with anything. It's not like we've done anything wrong."

"But I can. Don't you remember the Deity Treaty of 1488?"

"Oh please, that hasn't been enforced in 243 years!"

"Yet it is still in effect, and none of the other gods would argue on your behalf if it is enforced today. So I suggest you tell me everything that you've gathered on the boy. I regret that I was out of world these past few months."

"Ah, well you can't look at us there," Coyote said with a grin. "We only followed these two into this mess this morning."

Strange nodded and turned to look at the two gods lounging to his left. "All right then." He gestured with his hand for them to begin. In the forceful jerk of the motion, one might have picked up on the subtle undertone of his aggravation. He had not spent months in a civil war infested land of gigantic frogs and much too much slime for any one dimension just to come home to this. He had really been hoping for one quiet night reserved only for hot chocolate.

"Fine," Loki humphed. His hair lengthened for a moment, allowing him to flip it back with sass. "It all started with an Anansi amulet-"

"Anansi?"

"-and then he gained the ability to transmogrify-"

"Transmogrification in a mortal?"

"-and I thought he could only do it when faced with mortal danger, but then he goes and saves his friend from the smallest printer explosion I've ever seen-"

"_Purposeful_ transmogrification in a mortal?"

Loki shot him a deadpan glare, then turned it towards the others. "Who hit him with a parrot curse?"

Strange regained his composure. "Do none of you understand how bizarre this is?"

"Of course we do. Why else would we be so interested?"

Strange closed his eyes to think. That wasn't usually a good idea around these types, but they were just too distracting sometimes. "And you were all watching the same mortal all this time?"

"I've known the longest," Loki said proudly. "Everyone else just found out today."

"Technically you told me something was going on weeks ago," Hermes corrected. "But yeah, I didn't know it was that spider kid until this morning."

"And then you both had to come to us for some answers." Raven smiled viciously.

Strange's frown deepened. "What did they ask about?"

"Amulets. We used to create them to empower our favorite humans or curse our least favorite." Raven and Coyote shared nostalgic looks. "Ah, good times."

"Right, the amulet. Where is that now?"

Suddenly, four sets of eyes found the ethereal floor of the interdimensional room fascinating.

"Well," Hermes began, "we went to get it, but we thought that Raven and Coyote got there first. They were always quick to figure things out."

"And we did leave for the museum shortly after they asked their questions," Coyote said, "but the amulet was already gone. We thought they might have taken it before they came to us."

Strange stared at them all shrewdly. "And this is the truth? None of you snatched it without telling the others?"

Loki slumped, resting his chin on his hand. "Ah, regrets."

Dr. Strange sighed. He had been wrong. It was indeed much worse than he had thought five minutes ago.

There was another being involved here. And they likely had the amulet.

Strange had a strong suspicion of who it was.

He had never before hoped that a great interdimensional deity might be involved in anything he did, but at this point that looked like the safest-no, simplest-no . . . Well, it would at least be a bit more sophisticated than if any of these four _had_ gotten their hands on that amulet.

* * *

The Golden Silk Orb-Weaver is perhaps one of the most beautiful and unique spiders.

Their long legs and abdomen are adorned with yellow and sometimes red markings. These warn predators of their venomous nature. They are also one of the only spiders in the world to spin golden webs, the silk coming out a glistening yellow. Their webs are also some of the largest webs in the world. This is not surprising. The Orb-Weaver is the largest web-spinning spider in the world.

A five-inch leg span really helps their beauty show.

Thanks to their large size, the webs these spiders spin are thicker and stronger. Orb-Weavers have been known to eat small birds and lizards that find their way into the webs. Or so this young Orb-Weaver had read on the plaque on her enclosure.

She had been raised from an egg in the Brooklyn Zoo. It was a noisy place to live, but it was home to her. She had heard the older spiders' tales of the outside, of huge trees and lizards and great floods that could tear down a perfectly good web. So she knew that she was content here, where her food always found its way into her web.

But then the Great Spider called her. He gave her a mission, and so, in the middle of the night, she left her home to complete it.

The world was different than she had heard. It must have changed in the years the old spiders had been in there. The trees were huge, but they were much less green than they had been described. There weren't even enough branches where a spider could make a decent web. And there were different colored apes everywhere, even inside the trees.

She ignored it all the best she could, focusing on the destination in her mind. It was a comfort to her that she had been guaranteed safe passage back to her home.

On the top of one of the shorter trees she met the group of little spiders. They gave her the item they had carried for the Great Spider. She took it off their straining backs and hurried to where the trees grew shorter still. Down the side she went until she found the hole in the tree.

Inside was a sleeping ape, but she recognized him as a Spider.

She climbed up the wall and onto the ceiling. She had never had to test her silk against much strain, but if it was supposed to be able to restrain a bird then it should be able to hold the amulet she had been given. Gently, ever so slowly she lowered it down. It would not do to wake him up.

Then the amulet was around his head. She walked down to the floor and tugged at her thread. The cord of the amulet slipped down to his neck. His eyes snapped open for a beat before they slid closed.

Her job was done.

Now to get out of this jungle and back home.


	8. Chapter 8: With Great Responsibility

Chapter 8: With Great Responsibility Comes Great Power

**You know how I said that Chapter 4 was the first chapter to offer some sort of explanation? Well, here's another. This is the big one. This one really does explain just about everything that has happened so far.**

**So, naturally, it also opens up a few new paths to go down as the story continues.**

* * *

This was the third time Peter had this vision.

But with his new clarity, it might as well have been his first time.

It _was_ a web that he had seen. And it _was_ beautiful. It was all encompassing. It was there to catch everything, every story that passed. Every tale ever to exist was etched into its intricate pattern. The web's anchors were everywhere but here. If you looked anywhere past the web, the blackness of the ether gave way to images of the worlds, glimpses of life, the universe, and everything.

Peter was counting the number of spokes in the web for a second time. At a glance they seemed infinite, but when he started counting them he came to an end far quicker than he would have guessed. The first time he got forty-two, and he was almost at the same number again when the voice came.

Classically otherworldly, the voice seemed to come from everywhere as it originated from nowhere and ended up right in Peter's head anyway.

_**Hello, my Spider.**_

Um, hello.

Peter had moved his mouth, but nothing had vibrated. His vocal cords hadn't done anything even though he was pretty sure his words had still gone somewhere. Maybe it had something to do with a lack of atmosphere. Of course that raised some questions about his breathing, but-

_**You need not worry about breath or sustenance here. All that exists in this plane is your mind. **_The words seemed to carry a smile. _**Now, you must be wondering why you are here.**_

_Well, yeah. I guess you could say that. You're Anansi, right?_

Maybe it was the voice, but Peter felt like he wasn't alone. He looked around the web. Sure enough, there was a spider sitting in the middle of it. Or, that's how it looked right after he blinked. If he stared too long it seemed to be everywhere else but there. It was like looking directly at a glow-in-the-dark star.

_**Yes, I am. I brought you here so I could congratulate you.**_

_For what?_

The spider looked about the right size in comparison to the web, but that meant it was huge. Its microscopic setules would probably crush a planet. Did that make them macroscopic? But if they were huge the spider could never stick to anything using the usual Van der Waals forces to-

_**You have so many thoughts in your head, Little One. They are fascinating, but I must keep this conversation on track. You cannot be here for long, and I have so much work to do. I congratulate you on making your earth one of the most entertaining I've seen in millennia.**_

_Oh, you're welcome, I guess._Was it a compliment, he tried not to wonder. _You can hear all of my thoughts, can't you?_

_**I do hear them, but I don't always listen. I've got my legs full with one Web of Worlds. **_The spider shifted, grasping some threads that had spontaneously begun to unravel. _**Now, I thought I might reward you by easing your anxiety. Dealing with multiple gods in one day is no walk in the park for a mortal as I understand.**_

_I've dealt with . . . Well, I've dealt with things nearly as bad._

_**So I've seen. I don't think you need to worry about those four too much, though. I am no Seer, but I've watched them for eons. They talk a big game, yet they are very content with living in a steady, **_**predictable** _**world. Although not one of them could have predicted your current situation.**_

Peter's heart sank. _My situation? What's my situation?_

The spider succeeded in repairing the web. It settled back to sit everywhere. _**I always love how everyone has different explanations of their worlds. As it turns out, the magic experts your employer consulted were correct when they said they could detect no magic in you. That is because Radical Power is not magic. It is a concentration of the chaos that keeps each world going. Loki assumed that it was magic because no mortal has ever possessed so much Radical Power in your world before. I must say you've got quite a bit more than most of my Spiders.**_

_But how does that explain how I changed into animals? Doesn't that kind of require magic?_

_**Well, the answer depends on which transmogrification you are referring to.**_

_Um . . . All of them if you have the time, please._

_**Okay. Your first two changes were purely from your Radical Power. Loki was near you those times. True to true chaos, your Radical Power allowed you to briefly absorb some of Loki's magic because of some major fluctuations in the laylines of Earth. He was right that your body swapping left some lasting effects. Hence why he alone sensed his own power in you. He didn't bother wondering why the traces dissipated shortly after.**_

Peter mulled this over. It sounded like it was supposed to make sense, but he wasn't getting it at all. Had Loki really been there the time with the Goblin? He _had_ said he had been watching.

_**In other words, you only transmogrified because Loki was near and that was the easiest thing for the Radical Power to manipulate. It's certainly not the most obvious answer, but I have seen this happen many times before.**_

_All right, fine, so what about the other two times? Loki wasn't at my school, was he?_

_**Ah, those are the ones with a different explanation. Those were partly because of me.**_

_You?! What did you do?_

_**I thought that it was rather amusing that everyone thought you could change into an animal when frightened, or even at will. But it was an intriguing thought. You've done so much to protect your world and others. So I decided I would reward you with the true power of transmogrification.**_

_The true-you mean I've actually got that power now?! _Peter ran a hand through his hair, not even bothering to contemplate how that was possible if his mind was supposed to be the only piece of him here. _But what if I don't want that power?_

_**You don't have the power yet. I'm giving it you now, hence why you're here. Your last two changes were because of a chaotic flux in my web that wasn't entirely in my control. In any case, I'm afraid that's not your decision to make. To use a term from your world, I am your 'boss'. I chose you to become a Spider because I thought you were worthy and responsible. You have proven this to be true. Now I give you this new magic because I know you will use it well. And also . . . **_The voice grew heavy and sad. _**Because I suspect you will need all the help you can get in the coming times.**_

_Why? What's going to happen? When?_

_**It is just the intuition of an old soul who has seen much. It may be nothing.**_

_You can't just say something ominous like that and then call it a hunch! Besides, you're an omnipotent god, right? Shouldn't this be way more than a hunch?_

_**It depends on your definition of omnipotent. I watch all current timelines, but I have no access to future knowledge. I hardly have access to past knowledge aside from the memories I weave into this web. All I have at my disposal is an experience of patterns, jagged patterns that fit together if you stare at them long enough. Puzzle pieces have been falling neatly into place in your world and others. If it continues like this, the resulting picture could be disastrous. However, if just one piece falls out of place, your tales shall continue unbothered. **_The voice gained a tone now that suggested he might have been laughing. _**Chaos tends to break these puzzles. The powers I will bestow to you will at the very least decrease the chances of such terrors breaking loose.**_

_Okay, okay, fine, I get it. Um-Thank you, I guess. Would you mind giving me a rundown of this power? Just like a quick tutorial. I'd really appreciate it._

_**I'm afraid not. You've nearly spent too much time here as it is. We wouldn't want your soul to explode. Besides, a tutorial is much too structured for Radical Power. Now that you have magic of your own, there really is no telling what will come of it.**_

_But you said-_

_**Yes, transmogrification is a very likely outcome. I'd bet more than money on that. **_The voice was fading now, along with the infinite scenes and web. _**But magic is a very funny thing, especially when in a Radical. As always, I speak from experience. **_It was so distant, but the voice was smiling again. _**Ah, you have so much experience to gain, young Spider. Good luck. I'll be watching.**_

* * *

Sam let himself into Peter's bedroom. The Web Head was late for breakfast, and, truth be told, too much weird stuff had happened lately for them to just let it slide. May had actually been the one to suggest that someone go up to check on him. Sam had not been the first to volunteer, but he was the one to win the rock-paper-scissors contest three times in a row.

So he grinned triumphantly as he didn't bother to creep quietly as he approached the bed.

"Wakey, wakey, Web Head. Luke, Ava, and I already ate all the bacon. Danny saved some of his wheat grass stuff though."

His statement was met with near silence.

The only sound was Peter's sharp and rapid breathing.

Sam sighed. He really didn't mind this craziness as much as he probably should, but he did prefer when it began after lunch. One o'clock on weekdays was best. He really didn't mind missing math quizzes.

He approached the bed. The first thing that caught his eye was the amulet around Peter's neck. It was the same one from the museum. And it was pulsing with maroon light. Should he remove it? Everyone usually told him not to touch anything. Maybe he should call everyone else up. Then Danny or Ava could be blamed if anything went wrong.

Peter's eyelids fluttered. Sam paused. Something, or really another thing, wasn't right here. He leaned forward and pulled back one of Peter's eyelids. Instead of blank brown eyes, or even the pure white of natural REM sleep, they were entirely black.

Sam cupped a hand by his mouth to alert the rest of the team.

He screamed in shock instead.

Peter was moving restlessly now and_. . . shifting_. An arm became a tentacle became a claw. His skin was fur was feathers was pink, slimy mass. His jaw elongated and shortened, fangs became visible and disappeared.

The sounds were worse than the visuals. His bones creaked and cracked. Peter moaned yelled and yowled. And Sam still screamed because there was not a television screen between him and what he was seeing.

The short display was slowing by the time the others rushed in, May in the lead. They only saw eight eyes snap open. Six disappeared. Two closed. And Peter was still once more.

* * *

Peter might have woken slowly, one stage at a time.

But then there was a jolt of _something_ and then there was pain and then there was not and then he was awake.

And that _something _was still there.

He gasped for breath. He had had a dream. A vision? An astral projection? He'd stick with dream for now. What had it been about?

Oh.

Right.

Peter opened his eyes, preparing to figure out what was going on before waking everyone else up.

He found everyone else staring at him.

"Peter?" May asked tentatively. "Are you okay?"

"I'm-Um-" He glanced at each of them. Why did they all look so shaken up? Had he screamed out in pain? His gaze lingered on Sam. "Um-Is Sam okay?"

The others turned to look at the young man leaning against the wall. He was slowly sliding down into a sitting position. His face was strangely blank.

"I'm good," he replied hoarsely. "I'll be okay."

"What happened?" Peter asked next.

"We were hoping you could tell us," Ava said with a frown.

Peter hesitated. He felt like he still had a very incomplete picture of what was going on. He really didn't want to tell them anything prematurely. This felt like something he ought to figure out on his own. But they knew something was off, and they were expecting an explanation. They hadn't received a proper one in so long. "Oh, well . . . There is something I can tell you. It's complicated, like usual."

May nodded. "I'll make some more coffee."

* * *

Dr. Strange was giving a very long winded speech on how gods were not supposed to use their powers frivolously on earth. Earth's magnetic field could only handle so much magic at a time, and four gods vying for attention and dominance in this situation was bound to open up some loophole for some truly sinister god to exploit and they were being extremely irresponsible even for gods of mischief and yadda yadda yadda.

Loki was successfully not paying attention thanks to eons of practice. He took solace in the fact that Strange was still a human and would have to stop for some food soon. Odin could spend days lecturing. And he very often did.

Suddenly, Loki gasped.

"What?" Strange snapped. "Are you going to pretend to have an epiphany like last time?"

"Of course not. But listen," he turned excitedly to the others, "you guys will never believe what just happened to the Radical kid."

"Ooh, what?" Raven asked.

Dr. Strange frowned deeply. "How are you still watching him? This realm usually blocks oculus sight."

Loki grinned wildly. "The kid's magic just surged! I think he may have control now!"

The three other gods hooted.

"Surged? He had such minuscule trace amounts," Strange argued.

Hermes clapped. "Let's go congratulate him!"

"I've never heard of anything like this! It'll be a momentous occasion!" Coyote agreed.

The gods stood.

"STOP! I will not allow you to harm Peter!" Strange warned.

"Relax, we're not going to harm him. We're just going to have some fun." Loki grasped around in the fog and opened the misty door. He allowed the women to go first, for he did know how to be a suave gentleman when necessary. Hermes pushed himself after them. Loki stuck out his tongue as he exited last.

Thus he was the last to enter the barren landscape of cerulean cactus trees, yellow sand, and salmon pink sun.

"What on earth?" Coyote gaped. She sniffed at the air, wrinkling her nose at the dry stench of the alien atmosphere.

"This _isn't_ earth," Hermes answered. "I do believe this is one of those pocket dimensions that are notoriously hard to both enter and leave. And I should know. Apollo sent me to them a few times. He never did get over the cow thing."

Raven clicked her tongue reprovingly. "Loki, I expected you to make sure the door went straight to Earth, preferably close to New York."

"What do you think I meant to do! I bet Strange messed with the passage."

She did not frown, but her eyes narrowed. "That little man was not capable of altering a portal's course. Who could have done it?"

Loki kicked some sand a good dozen feet up. "Faen ta deg, Anansi!"

* * *

Somewhere in the everywhere, Anansi smiled to himself.


	9. Chapter 9: Wait and See

Chapter 9

**The character at the end of this chapter is not entirely an OC. They are kind of based on a character from a very well-known series. I'm using their name, so some of you may recognize it, or feel curious enough to Google it. Aside from a few easter eggs, you don't need to know anything about their original origins though.**

**Also, I realized that I misspelled the title. The original African word was Anansesem, I put Anansem. However, I kind of think Anasesem, literally translating into Spider Tales, is better suited as a title for a series of one-shots, which I would like to do at some point. On the other hand, a better title hasn't come to mind. If anyone has any ideas for a title, or prefers Anasesem, let me know. If the title does change, I'll mention it in an author's note before I implement it.**

* * *

Shield Director Nick Fury was in Peter's house.

Such visits usually brought a much better form of excitement than it did now.

Nearly everyone had a seat in the living room. May and Sam were on the sofa. Danny sat with his legs crossed up beneath him on one of the armchairs. Peter was on the other armchair. Ava and Luke had pulled chairs from the kitchen, Luke having turned his around so he could sit backwards. Maria Hill balanced on the arm of the sofa. Fury stood in the middle of the room, questioning everyone extensively.

Peter felt bad. Questions kept coming his way and, though he had some semblance of understanding, he just couldn't articulate much of it.

But was it couldn't? Shouldn't? _Wouldn't_?

The thought kept coming to Peter, even as he reassured his friends and met with Fury and so many other Shield agents. The thought kept nagging at him, making him hesitate, making him shrink back even as he was pushed forward.

This new magic, _his_ new magic . . . he knew absolutely nothing about it. Sure, that put him at the same place as everyone else who didn't know what to think. But that was . . . kind of the problem. The issue. He should be able to take some time on his own, _alone_, to see what he could do. That's what he had done when he first got his spider powers. He hadn't been crowded like this. It had been a very personal affair, allowing him to become comfortable and confident before anyone else even knew.

He wished it was like that now, so that no one had to freak out. Peter could only imagine how his aunt would have reacted if he had gone to her that first night of the bite, the fever, the achy flu feeling, the panicked moments when his hands first got stuck to things . . .

Everyone ignored Sam, as usual, but Peter noticed the way Sam kept looking at him . . . weirdly. What had he seen? What was he really thinking? Peter didn't want anyone else looking at him like that, like he was a . . . a . . . monster or a . . .

It was a testament to how much crazier Peter's life had become that he was having trouble finding words to describe these things.

Maybe his reasoning _was_ mostly couldn't. Peter didn't have a nearly big enough vocabulary to describe the change he felt. He knew there was a change, although it wasn't that much of a change. He didn't really feel different. The feeling was something not entirely unfamiliar, nor entirely unwelcome, nor even unbelievable. But describing everything it wasn't was the most he could say.

And so the sight of Dr. Strange was a welcome one.

"Where are they?" Strange asked briskly as soon as he stepped through his portal right behind Fury, who did not jump but whisked around fast enough to make the end of his jacket snap like a whip. Strange looked around the room. Seeing only the surprised faces of friends, he relaxed slightly.

"Where's who?" everyone asked slightly out of sync. The semblance of an echo made the room sound as crowded as it honestly was. Peter realized he and his aunt had never had so many visitors at the same time before.

Strange muttered a few archaic words and held a fist to his mouth. He blew on it and a glowing dove flew out as he opened his fingers. It flew straight through the wall. "I apologize for my unannounced intrusion, but the gods left before I could negotiate any Vows. I feared they may immediately harass you again, but I suppose-" He paused, looking around the room again. "Why are all of you gathered here? Did the gods come and go so quickly?"

Fury adjusted his leather. "You mean you _didn't_ come here because Anansi contacted Parker?"

"He _what_?" Strange peered over Fury's shoulder at Pete, who gave a timid wave in response. Fury continued. "He's got magic now and-"

Strange gasped and pushed past Fury. "Ah, there's the son of a gun."

Peter followed the magical doctor's gaze down to his chest and noticed the amulet all over again. He had briefly been aware of the abnormal weight when he first woke up, but the chaos of everyone's questions had completely distracted him. He hadn't even bothered to pull it out of the shirt he had changed into (he had eventually noticed his night shirt had been soaked in a cold sweat). Come to think of it, he hadn't even bothered to take it off. That really should have been the first thing on his mind.

Judging by the look on Fury's face, he had also just noticed the amulet and was thinking the exact same thing.

Dr. Strange kneeled in front of Peter and peered very closely at the amulet. Peter leaned back a bit, moving to take it off.

"Geez, personal space, dude. Here, I can take it off so you can look as closely as you wa-"

"Don't!" Strange yelled right in his face. "That may be all that is stabilizing you. Let me assess the situation first."

Peter froze, wide eyed. "Stabilizing?" He squeaked.

"Mortal, human bodies are not really made to house magic. It takes a guiding hand to make it possible. That is why most tales involve a god or other magical being as a mentor. That is also why humans who search for magic alone tend to go mad."

"That thing put my boy in danger!?"

Strange hardly glanced at May. "Most gods don't realize how delicate mortals are. Others don't care. I'm afraid I don't know Anansi well enough to say."

"Well, um," Peter looked past the face in his face to see his aunt. "Anansi seemed pretty caring. He told me that he was doing this partly because there might be danger ahead."

"Danger? What kind?" Fury asked. "Can we trust his foresight?"

"He said he doesn't see the future. He's just a good guesser or something. So he's not entirely sure."

"What is it with these magic people and certainty?" Maria yelled, exasperated. "We've literally gotten a different story from everyone who's come. That's including you, Strange, so sorry if I take whatever mumbo jumbo you say with a few shakers of salt."

"Understood." The doctor stood and stepped back, giving Peter some personal space again. "Peter, did Anansi really talk to you or were you eavesdropping?"

"Hey, I try not to be rude. We had an entire conversation."

"Really? That's rather odd for an entity who never even visits other planes of existence."

Peter frowned. "But he watches everywhere."

Now Strange frowned. "But he's not an omnipotent being."

Fury opened his mouth to issue an order, but Maria beat him to it.

"Oh my God, still? Pete, just tell us what Anansi said. And I swear this god better know what he's doing."

"Well, um, first he said the magic experts were right-"

Maria made an odd sound, her lips pressed together.

Fury simply nodded for Peter to continue.

* * *

Peter recounted his experience. Hardly a second after he finished, Strange began talking.

Once again, Peter was given an explanation to his explanation. Once again it abated his fears and quelled further worry.

Was it supposed to mean something this time?

Dr. Strange said that, though he had to reach out to Madame Web to be sure, Anansi seemed to be just about the most genial god around. Strange was a bit dubious that Anansi actually had an investment in each and every universe, but he had heard of weirder things. Also, the fact that Anansi had invited Peter into his realm to give him a gift was a great sign that he cared. Most other gods would have dumped a mountain-full of magic onto a mortal they were interested in, which often inadvertently began wars, genocides, or plagues.

Many faces in the room became pale at this point.

Strange continued as if he hadn't just made an ominous statement. He had much practice in that.

"As far as I can tell, Peter is just fine. Anansi weaved the magic in seamlessly. That does mean that, even if you don't want it, I can't do anything about it."

The faces exchanged glances.

"Are you sure?" Maria asked.

"Sure enough to make a Stygian Oath."

"All right," Fury said. "Now that we've gotten that out of the way-"

"Hold on, buster, it's not out of the way yet." May pushed herself even farther over the edge of her seat. "You've established that Peter's stable, but what about side effects? What about training?" She glanced apologetically at her nephew. "No offense, honey, but I know the situations you get yourself into."

Peter managed a small smile. "None taken."

"I understand, Mrs. Parker," Fury replied swiftly, "but we do have a warning of a major threat to think about too."

"Yes, a threat that was part of the reason Peter was given magic. If Anansi thinks this will help keep things safe, I think we should help keep Peter safe."

Fury remained silent, thinking, weighing his options. Peter often wondered how the man was able to think so quickly in these situations, when no portion of training had even mentioned that something like this could happen, let alone how to deal with it. Then he remembered what was essentially Fury's catchphrase. Had Fury really ridden a rodeo as crazy as this one though? And if he had, how long had he stayed on until the craziness bucked too hard?

Peter realized he had never imagined Fury falling off before. Did he really think this situation was so bad? If he thought about it honestly, this entire thing hadn't been too awful so far, it hadn't even been dangerous. Turning into the snake _had_ saved his life, and the ability would likely save him again. Loki and the other gods' arrival had been really annoying and nerve wracking, but not harmful (aside from Loki's first visit). And now, even if there was some sort of Great Danger coming up sometime in the future, May was right. It was bound to be easier with _more_ powers at his disposal.

Oh, so that's what Fury did. He forced the emergency brake off in his brain and actually allowed himself to think.

"Okay, I hear you," Fury answered at last. "But you have to admit that it will be easier to plan his safety when we know what the danger is. Do you have any theories, Strange?"

"Yes, several, actually. And they're all worst case scenarios; the very essence of nightmares."

* * *

Delphi Riddle woke in a cold sweat, gasping as she sat up.

What she had just Seen . . . It was incredible. It was astounding! So many people would pay so much to know when it would-

She collapsed back onto her bed.

It had just happened exactly at the moment she Saw it.

Delphi was tired of this. She was a Seer! An Augur! That was her blood, that was her business! So few people were aware of her talents, but those that did were wealthy, and they knew how priceless her gift was. She was the best in the business who didn't ask for blood sacrifices or souls.

Delphi didn't need foresight to see what was bad for business, not that she had ever expected something like this to happen.

That's what made this unexpected turn of events so awful.

It was _unexpected_.

Every once in a while, it was normal for her to See a really chaotic event at the moment it happened. Not every being was leashed by destiny. In fact, very few things (living or otherwise) actually had destinies, but most everyone else got caught up in the web of cause and effect at some point. And mortals were so predictable. Even those without the gift could make some accurate predictions.

But never had Delphi encountered Present Visions so often. The worst part was that it wasn't just bad for business. This was bad for Fate. Delphi could practically See the threads of the Fabric of Time unraveling, the Fates scrambling to stay ahead of the present.

This couldn't possibly be good for the world, the Future being so ethereal, so unknowable.

Delphi sat up again and hugged her knees. She couldn't See what she could possibly do about it. She was a Seer, not a doer. She hadn't even really Seen anything of supreme importance like her namesake had.

Her eyes snapped open wide.

She _had_ Seen something supremely important, just now. Granted, it had already happened at this point, but the fact remained that her Visions were always true.

That had happened.

And she did know what to do when she Saw something big.

Delphi pushed herself out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. Opening the water all the way, she filled her scrying bowl. Her reflection stared back at her when the bowl was full. Her shoulder length black hair sharply defining her pale face. Her eyes weren't as heavily lidded as her mother's, but she had inherited her parents' cunning. She hesitated for a second, wondering who she should call first. This was definitely big enough to gain a god's council. So many would be affected, but there was only one god in her contacts list that had some extra stakes in this. He was also one of the few who was kind to her.

"Oh, Great Odin, King of the Asgardians, would you listen to my humble message?"

The water that had just settled in her bowl shimmered and vibrated. Then the image of a gray haired head replaced her reflection. One of its eyes glowed. "Young Augur? I don't have much time right now. Have you been seeing the Present as well?"

"Yes, Great Warrior, I have. Did you-"

"These are grave times for we who look to the Future, grave times indeed." The head shook slowly, bobbing slightly. Odin was pacing. "I have been bombarded with so many images that I can do nothing about because they are _already happening!_" He took a deep breath through his thick beard. "You can't reschedule the present! I always schedule when I have Future Visions so I can get a decent night's sleep. Don't want images of Ragnarok giving me nightmares. But now they keep interrupting me all the time!"

Delphi made sympathetic sounds at all the right times, but she could only imagine how awful that must be. Being mortal, she couldn't 'schedule' her Visions, but she didn't have half as many as the gods did. "It must be exhausting, Sir, but did you see the particular Present Vision where-"

"Oh, Delphi, I have thousands of Visions to sort through right now, and a thousand times more duties to tend to. But don't worry, I've got some people looking into a way to stop most of the Visions-"

"_Stop_ them?!" Delphi clapped a hand over her mouth. She had just interrupted a god! What was she thinking?

"Relax, we've got Mimir and other Seers like you to keep track of these things. Besides, the Future is old news. Most things have passed. The only big thing that's bound to happen is Ragnarok, and I grew tired of watching that long ago."

"But this is your Sight, O Great One! You did so much to gain it!"

"I know, I greatly regret that decision now. These are changing times. I can't be bothered by every little thing. If I can't choose when I see the Future, then I'll choose when I hear about the Past and Present. Did you know that humans do that all the time and they've still got their entire planet populated?"

"Er, yes, Sir. I am human."

"Right! You act so . . . different though. Humans are such ingenious little buggers." Odin turned away as babble came from his end of the connection. "Ah, I've got to go. Good luck, young one. I hope the Present isn't too dull."

The water cleared, and Delphi stared at her own shocked face.

No one had ever ignored the Future before.

No one had ever ignored her before.

Odin was right. Things were changing. People would have to change with the times. But Time should not be forced to conform to whimsy. This was bigger than Odin was accepting. This wasn't just her losing her business, this was the world losing its certainty.

Well, if Delphi couldn't See, then she would do.

She rifled through her contact list.

* * *

Away in the ether, Anansi sighed.

Another puzzle piece fell into place.


	10. Chapter 10: The Future is Coming

Chapter 10

**I'm not going to lie. This has been the most difficult chapter to write. And then I revised it extensively this week. On the plus side, it's a full 1,000 words longer than usual (interestingly enough, that includes absolutely no narrative from Parker today). On the other hand, it completely ignores the concept of Occam's Razor. Please let me know if you see any inconsistencies or errors.**

**Because I spent a lot of time just writing this week (and playing life), I've still come up with absolutely nada for the title, so I'm still taking suggestions.**

* * *

"What do you mean you can't get us out of here? You're the god of travel for Gaia's sake!"

Loki had seen Raven many times before. He had even seen her this angry at Hermes before. Hermes did have a habit of upsetting women. It might have had something to do with being a god of lies. It probably had more to do with him being a scatterbrain. Loki found himself spread a bit thin just running his business, plotting to take over Asgard, and just spreading chaos like he was supposed to. He understood how being the god of over a dozen things as well as owning a few companies could make you forget a date or fifty.

"I help keep travellers safe! I don't actually provide travel!" Hermes faltered. "Well, at least not someplace like here. I can get an Uber to take you most places on Earth."

Coyote bared her teeth disdainfully. "You run Uber? You're not doing a very good job on the safe travel part, are you?"

To Loki's amusement, Hermes shuffled his feet. "Well, no, but I'm working on it! I've got a lot on my plate, okay? I managed to get most stray dogs off of the streets of New York though. That was a big project."

Coyote smirked playfully. "Yes, I did appreciate that. You ought to take a look at certain Asian countries though. I hear they've got a taste for canine flesh over there."

"One miracle at a time, honey. And believe it or not, dear old daddy has been giving me trouble with that one. He went over there a few decades back and decided he liked the dish. But I bet it had more to do with that time the dog ambassadors peed all over his throne and-"

"Zeus likes to eat dog?" Loki interrupted. "Dad's do everything to annoy us, am I right?"

Hermes made to continue that train of thought, but Raven reached out and grabbed his lips. "Let's get back on track before our intriguing little mortal reaches the end of his lifespan, hm?" She waited until the other three were looking at her. "Now, I know someone who passes through places like this in a single cartwheel."

"A cartwheel specifically?" Loki asked with a raised eyebrow.

Raven made to grab his lips too but he leaned away. She released Hermes' lips as she addressed him. "Do you think you can help me get a message to him?"

Hermes looked thoughtful. " Ah, there's an idea. These places are difficult to get material in and out, but data wouldn't fall under that category. How does he take his messages?"

"Email."

"Who sends emails anymore?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "Herm, you invented email."

"That was ages ago!"

Raven cupped a hand around Hermes' cheek. "Just do it." Her fingers curled until her nails dug into his skin. "Will you, honey?"

"On it."

* * *

Delphi Riddle put on her suede sandals and boarded a plane. She had once found a long forgotten Sling Ring a few years ago, but had promptly lost it herself. She had a feeling that the ring might have been cursed to be easily lost. Sorcerers were known to upset many magical beings and were constantly plagued by such things.

And so this was how she was travelling today. The deity she was visiting would never even consider picking up a scrying message, let alone from a mortal. But he was one of the safest gods directly involved in whatever was happening.

Considering who he was, that was bad news.

But Delphi was willing to do anything to save Time.

She touched down in the land of the Delta Blues in the middle of the pouring rain. This reflected the current circumstances much better than the plane ride, in Delphi's opinion. She had bought a first class ticket so she would be in relative peace just in case another Vision came. But none had come. She had hoped things might change before they got too drastic, but it seemed that this was about as awful as anything could ever be.

Delphi was walking in Memphis. She was walking, feeling like she was six feet under Beale Street.

She was just turning onto Union when she saw the ghost.

She had heard rumors, but she really hadn't expected them to be true.

"Um, excuse me," Delphi tried to get its attention. "Excuse me, I'm here to request council with Lord Set." The ghost remained still. Was she wrong? Was this not the spirit tasked with guarding Set's domain? "Um . . . Mr. Presley, sir?"

The blank voids of Elvis' eyes snapped up. "Yes, ma'am?"

Delphi was quiet for a second. He truly was quite a sight, even when only defined by a monochromatic glow. "I'm-ah-here to request council with your Master, Set."

"You are Delphi Riddle?"

"Yes." She did not bother asking how he knew, but she was still surprised that he bothered to know.

"Then he is expecting you. You may see him immediately. Follow me." He pulled what appeared to be a ghostly radio out of a pocket. "Elvis to Master, Elvis is entering the building."

Delphi followed Elvis up to the gates of Graceland and watched him walk right through without a single guard seeing him. As he passed, the guards' faces became blank, their gazes empty. Delphi also walked by unnoticed.

Elvis led her to a large set of oaken double doors. "His Highness is awaiting you, little lady."

Delphi moved to open one of the doors, but they opened themselves, revealing the luxurious office within.

Truthfully, it wasn't much of an office. There was an elaborate desk, but a velvet chaise lounge replaced the conventional office chair. Two coaches done with the same rich velvet faced each other in the middle of the room. Shelves lined with papyrus scrolls covered most of the walls. The wall on either side of the door were plastered with pictures, posters, album covers, and all sorts of other entertainment memorabilia. Palm fronds fanned out from each corner.

Yet the room appeared to be clear of any deities.

"Elvis has left the building," crackles from a radio behind her. Delphi swirled around to find a tall, muscular dark man standing in the shadows of one of the fronds. He smiled with bright white teeth.

"Hello, young mortal."

"Lord Set." Delphi bowed low.

"I was wondering if you would brave this visit so soon. I've heard that you can See quite extensively for a human."

"Thank you, my Lord."

Set stepped into the bright sunlight that came in through the uncovered window. He didn't put much effort into his human visage; Delphi caught glimpses of the rectangular ears and narrow snout of his true form. "Did you know I used to despise mortals? That I once thought they were just useless lumps of flesh?"

"I've heard legends."

"They're true. Or, at least a vast majority of them are. There's a few that are truly absurd. Anyhow, I've come to realize that I . . . was wrong."

Delphi tried not to raise her eyebrows. Never had she heard of a legend where Set showed any endearment towards mortals, or any beings aside from Nephthys for that matter.

"Humans like you," he continued, "At one point I would have stricken you where you stand, or cursed you with locusts. Now, I see that mortals are just like puppies."

"P-puppies, Sir?"

"Yes!" He stepped closer. "You live rather short lives yet remain childish for a delightfully long time. Just like puppies, you're very fun to kick. And you're highly entertaining to watch too. I mean, everyone practically worship me and my brethren without even realizing it! How cute is that?"

Careful to keep a straight face, Delphi swallowed only once. She looked at the wall of memorabilia again. It was all media related to Egyptian deities. A poster of The Mummy, pictures of the Washington Monument and Cleopatra's Needle, and a cover of Vogue with a model wearing Egyptian style make-up, among countless others.

"That is a fascinating view, Sir. Is that why you have chosen this Memphis as your vacation spot? I must say you were creative to recruit 'the King's' soul to serve a higher power."

"Ah, well, that was my intention, but that is not the man you call Elvis. I searched every path to the Underworld for weeks, but I never could find him. However, I am not as stubborn as some people I know." His jaw tensed, a vein popping out. Then his face relaxed into a smile. "So I killed the best Elvis impersonator there is. Nobody needs to know."

Delphi was used to being called a nobody. Nobodies always heard the most fascinating things.

Set walked over to lean on his desk. "Now, as much as you probably want to hear more about me, we have more pressing things to discuss. You Saw what I did, correct?"

"Yes, briefly. I watched you trap Hermes and his friends in that pocket dimension."

Set's smile grew. "Ah, yes! Did you see me laughing at the look on Hermes' face?"

"No, but I did see Hermes. I imagine you are quite proud."

"Proud? Ha! I'm more than proud! But that's not what I was referring to."

"No?"

The smile on Set's face fell. "No. I was under the impression that you had Seen what I did yesterday. Did you See me trick Hermes then? It was in a museum."

Delphi's head tilted. "Yesterday? I didn't See much yesterday, but I did catch a Glimpse of Loki and Hermes. They looked rather peeved."

"Ah, okay, so you do tend to See a lot of Hermes, right?"

"Well, Loki mostly, but he's often with Hermes."

"All right, I guess you'll do. Allow me to bring you up to speed." His smile came back with a vengeance. "I have spent the past thousand years gathering artifacts to raise Apophis, and I finally have enough!" His face tensed again and electric, red fog sparked off of his fists. "Or I _had_ enough."

Delphi forced herself to frown, but allowed herself an inward sigh of relief. "What happened?"

"It began yesterday about noon. I found the location of a powerful artifact, the last one I need. Lo and behold, I discovered that Hermes and Loki also had an eye on it. So I rushed to snatch it first. I left a camera to capture their faces. Raven and Coyote arrived first, and they were furious! Hermes' face was priceless!"

His eyes glazed nostalgically. Delphi waited a moment before making a small noise to regain his attention.

"Ahem, well, that was the point where everything started to go wrong." Set began to pace, his true form flickering into view more often. Delphi averted her gaze. "After I retrieved the amulet, I decided to spend some time celebrating. I didn't want to do the same old swarm thing like I did in Vegas not too long ago, so I invited Nephthys and went to a . . . What are they called? They're named after some sort of blunt weapon?"

"A club?"

"Yes, we went to one of those. I had a blast cursing every man who dared talk to my Honeycomb. I should have known that such a perfect day would go wrong! I wake up the next morning alone and _without the amulet!_"

Delphi's frown was more honest this time. "Did Hermes or one of the others take it back?"

"No, Anansi did. It was his amulet. And guess what he did? He gave it to a _mortal child!_ He gave _nearly all of its power to the mortal child!_"

Her frown grew deeper. She had to try really hard to word her next question just right. "Have retrieved every other artifact with sufficient power?"

"Of course! Why do you think I even care?"

"Can . . . Um, could you still harness the power from the child?"

"Of course I can! That's not the problem. The problem is that Loki, Raven, Coyote, and _Hermes_ have been hovering around. That's why I knew they wanted the amulet in the first place. One of them had been eyeing it. And now I'm sure Anansi is watching the child too." Set's tense face relaxed slightly. "That's where you come in, my dear."

So that's why he had allowed her to come. Delphi didn't show any of her apprehension. "What can I do?"

"I need you to do some reconnaissance. I need to know that my plan worked. And then I need to know if any other gods are hanging around, because really, five gods paying attention to one mortal? And then . . . then I will raise Apophis!" He posed dramatically. "Now, who did you See trapped in that dimension?"

"Four. Hermes, Loki, Raven, and Coyote."

"Excellent, that just leaves Anansi and whoever else might be hanging around. Are you ready?"

"Could you give me a minute to prepare myself?"

Set nodded.

Closing her eyes, Delphi's mind raced. It looked like one of the Great Prophecies was about to unfold, possibly two. Apophis would devour Ra and chaos would reign. But she couldn't See it for the life of her. Usually when she heard of plans like this she would catch glimpses of the outcome.

Time must really be in bad shape if it wasn't sure about one of the only futures really set in stone.

So it would be up to Delphi to figure out how to save the world from its lack of fate.

"Are you ready now?" Set asked impatiently.

She nodded, coming forward to kneel in front of him. Set placed a hand on her head.

Experienced Augurs like herself could See specific things if guided by a bit of magic, especially when the guide was currently obsessed with the desired subject. However, it wasn't as safe as regular Visions. The guide sometimes used too much magic, damaging the cornea of the Augur's Third Eye or permanently leaving it open. This led to either Blindness or insanity in most Augurs who tried. This was why guided Visions were not as common as they might have been.

Delphi's eyes rolled back in her head.

A picturesque house, a tidy living room, an uneasy atmosphere. Many people gathered, but all were mortal. Delphi quickly noticed her Sight was much more detailed than usual. She could See some of threads of Fate. They weaved through some of the people. The young girl was tied to at least three Fates, one of them very thick and important. The two older men in the room were tangled in even more threads. Delphi could See them so clearly now.

Except for one boy.

His image was clear enough, brown hair, thin frame. But his Fate, his connections were a complete blur compared to everyone else. Yet, his form appeared sharp, sharp enough to cut threads of Fate. Delphi gasped. She had never Seen a mortal that sharp before. Fate must be weaker than she had feared if mere mortals were able to fray its fabric.

Dimly, Delphi became aware that her physical body was seizing. She was pulled back as Set released her in disgust. Then she was even less aware of the physical world. She kept Seeing and Seeing even though she didn't want to Look.

Everything was brown. Dark brown, light brown. Burned ruins, sand. Skin. People walked among the dust and rubble. They wandered, every possible destination having been destroyed. There was a sense of jealousy, regret. Everyone who had the chance had left long ago with absolutely no plan to return. Those who had chosen to stay now had no choices left to them, either dead or puppet playthings to magical beings beyond their comprehension. The rest were just forgotten, although the trolls remembered. They bet on when the humans would starve to death.

A single, great visage disrupted the barren landscape. A pyramid of obsidian and marble. Within, Set sat on a throne of bones. Nephthys tried to feed him grapes, but he was too busy laughing. Laughing and laughing and laughing. He was living his wildest dreams. After a few minutes, Nephthys gave up and splattered the grapes in his face. Set licked the liquid off with his long, purple tongue. Nothing would irritate him ever again.

Augurs were usually unable to See themselves in the future.

But this wasn't a usual Vision.

Delphi Saw herself sitting atop a simple chair. A whole chair. A chair in some sort of intact shelter.

She would live.

She would live with the knowledge of what was happening all around her.

Images were starting to flash more and more frequently, too fast for Delphi's mind to process them.

She feared this madness would be the last thing she would See.

Then she saw Set once more, and he was looking at her expectantly.

"Did you see the child? The scrawny one with brown hair?"

That was a very generic description of a human, but there had been just the one boy who fit that description in her Vision. Delphi nodded shakily, feeling as if a dozen elephants with steel baseball bats had fought on top of her and then sat on her afterwards to rest. Her mind wanted to shut down and rest, but she also wanted to think about what she had just Seen. There was no way for her to tell how much time the world had left, but she planned to use whatever time was left to figure out how to give the world more time.

Set's eyes gleamed. "Excellent! We leave in five minutes."

It appeared that she did not have much time left at all.

* * *

Nearly everyone in the Parker household was ashen faced. Fury and Strange remained stoic. In all honesty, Sam couldn't see his own face, but he was pretty sure it was paler than his usual tan. Hearing 101 ways the world could end was pretty depressing. But then that could have just been Dr. Strange. In even more honesty, Sam thought Strange sounded like some sort of lecture professor. It was kind of disappointing considering how awesome he looked when he was doing magic. Sam had thought he was cool.

"And, furthermore," Strange droned on, "though humanity would likely survive the initial attack, the sheer magnitude of the event would likely push the universe out of equilibrium, which would cause everything to return to the point of origin after an indeterminate amount of time, but I doubt it would take long."

Sam noticed Ava and Peter's eyes widening. They probably knew what that meant. Sam just knew it was bad and to be avoided at all costs. That really seemed like the main point of this lecture. That was all they ever needed to know when they went to stop the bad guys. That was also all they needed to know about that look on Fury's face.

Sam began to count down from three inside his head. Three . . . Two . . .

"Enough." Fury held up a hand to emphasize the command. "I already know about all of that. I was asking which do you think Anansi might have meant? Which one seems most likely at this point?"

"I'd say the top five apocalypses are most probable."

Another vein on Fury's temple began to twitch. "You could have just started by saying 'I don't know'."

Strange frowned. "Well, I know for a fact that it won't be another Krikkit."

Sam raised an eyebrow, but he was too slow on the uptake. Luke asked, "There's an apocalypse that involves crickets? As in the tiny little jumping bugs?"

"No, as in robots with long hammers and pickets."

This time Danny raised an eyebrow. "You mean the game of Cricket?"

Strange's face stiffened. "Er, well, it _looks_ similar but-"

Fury's eye narrowed. "Forget about that. Mrs. Parker, I believe you had some pertinent questions about your nephew."

May blinked a few times. Sam realized that she usually didn't listen in on conversations about the end of the world. He would have suggested that they take the discussion to the Helicarrier, but since it seemed kind of related to Pete . . . or at least it had seemed related a while ago. Sam couldn't see how any mortal fit into most of those scenarios. Maybe Anansi was just paranoid.

Hm, paranoid, exactly how Sam had felt a few minutes ago, before he was bored to death by a death lecture.

But he wasn't feeling like that anymore, nope. No siree. He was well over freaking out over watching his friend changing shape right before his eyes. It hadn't even been all that freaky, it was just a bit different from the past few times, a bit more physical, a bit more real, a lot more noisy . . . And then he had been worried . . . very worried . . .

Well, maybe he was still a bit worried, but it wasn't like he really cared. Of all things, _that_ definitely wasn't about to happen. And it definitely wouldn't be the end of the world if it did.

"Oh-um," May cleared her throat. "Since-" She stopped short as the glowing dove zipped right through her chest. It alighted on Strange's outstretched finger.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter asked.

Strange's stoic facade gave way to an irritated frown. "It means at least one of those deities has come." He held the pure white bird to his ear, listening.

"Just great," Fury said. "Which one of those four is it?"

Strange's eyebrows shot up. "None. But I think I know which worst case scenario we're dealing with now."

Fury just raised one of his own eyebrows.

"The one the Ancient Egyptians feared each night. Set has come."

Strange was rushing through the wall before anyone could even ask why.

In his head, Fury was asking himself questions like _Why are all of my top operatives like this?_ But out loud he said in a strained voice: "Well, we do still have our magic experts to talk to, and a god just vouched for their competence."

Maria groaned.


	11. Chapter 11: Cover Your Eyes

Chapter 11

**There's good news and bad news.**

**The bad news is that I am just about completely out of buffer. I've got less than half of chapter 12 written, and that's it. I'm hoping to keep it to a maximum of two weeks between chapters, but I can't promise anything.**

**The good news is that I can probably finish this story in a few chapters! I'm thinking there will be about 2 or 3 more chapters, maybe an epilogue. We'll see. This entire thing has been a wild ride. I've never written anything with no plan before. It's surprisingly fun. I'm definitely going to try it again sometime.**

**Thanks to everyone who's reading! I can hardly believe there are 300 people reading this now! I would love to hear any speculations you have about the ending!**

* * *

_A few minutes before the disturbance at the Parker household_:

Even though Delphi didn't travel often, she had travelled in many ways before. She had travelled in conventionally human ways such as trains and planes. She had travelled in conventionally magical ways such as teleportation and wrinkling (with the assistance of magical beings of course). She had even travelled by giant seahorse once when Poseidon had invited her to share what she had Seen for the Ocean's future. That had been fun. It almost felt like riding a regular horse, except she had been very aware of the massive amounts of water and pressure all around her. And there was no mane to stroke, though the smoothness of the spines was pleasant to touch.

This was the first time she had travelled in a sandstorm.

It might have been an interesting experience, feeling like she was one with the tiny particles of ancient Earth that had eroded over eons, the pieces of rocks that had last been whole when the dinosaurs walked upon them.

It might have been, if she had expected it.

Immediately after she confirmed that there didn't seem to be any gods near the boy, Set had snapped his fingers and the whirlwind had started. She had been blown around and bombarded by a trillion little grains. Then they all stopped supporting her and she had been dumped onto the hard asphalt of a dingy back alley. Judging from the massive amount of noise that hit her ears, Delphi guessed that they were in some sort of city.

A bit sore from the impact, she remained on the ground as she rubbed sand out of her eyes and got a better look at her surroundings. Set stood by a pile of empty pizza boxes, smiling savagely. He stepped closer to her. Delphi's heart stopped for a second as he reached out a hand. And then he gave her a pat on the head.

"Ah, good girl, my little . . . what was your name? Nevermind. I'll give you a treat once I'm sure you're right about the others' absence."

Delphi suppressed a disbelieving laugh. It seemed that Set had really taken his new puppy philosophy to heart. "Thank you, Lord Set. I am glad to have assisted you."

Set's eyes glazed over, glowing slightly. Delphi took the opportunity to push herself to her feet and brush herself off. Set's bare chest and wrap were immaculate.

Now that her life wasn't in immediate danger, Delphi reconsidered the situation. The world was in danger, and she was possibly the only person who knew that. Perhaps that kid would also know soon if Set shouted about it enough in English, but he wasn't going to be alive for much longer. There had been other people with the boy. Delphi wondered if they would live to tell the tale in the next issue of the National Inquirer. She wondered if there would even be a next issue of the National Inquirer.

No, those thoughts weren't helping. She had to figure out a way to stop this. But how? It was destined to happen. And it was only one of many Doomsdays destined to happen. If she managed to stop this one, she might close her eyes to find that a different one would happen tomorrow.

Delphi shook her head. Again with the depressing thoughts. That was the problem with being an Augur. Most futures she Saw tended to be bad, and so she began to see everything in a pessimistic light. She did try to remember that she only saw a tiny fraction of the possible futures, but she also knew many gods who Saw the same things she did. Was the terror in her Visions present in a larger amount of futures than she would ever See?

A thought began forming in Delphi's mind. A small, hardly formed thing that kept tickling at the rest of her thoughts, forcing them to acknowledge it.

"Ah, you were right." Set grinned evilly. "There is no one there to protect him. Join me, young mortal, so that you may witness the greatest power in the world."

That little thought in Delphi's head became a tiny bit more solid when he said that, a tiny bit more relaxed.

Maybe things were exactly how they should be.

* * *

_In the Parker household, seconds after Strange's exit:_

There was hardly any suspense. Nobody really had a chance to understand the last thing Strange had said by the time he was thrown back through the wall, leaving a gaping hole. Nor did they get the chance to ask him. His gently smoldering form was still.

Fury took charge in the next split second. "Mrs. Parker, stay out of the way. Hill and I will keep this at bay until you five get suited up."

Both he and Maria pulled guns out of their jackets, though they were of a different design than the laser blasters they usually brandished about. These were sleek with a glowing green barrel.

It seemed they had had an upgrade since yesterday.

Everyone went their separate ways to change. Sam went searching for where he had last left his helmet. Danny pulled his yellow bandana out of a pocket. Luke grabbed his glasses from the counter. Ava went in search of some privacy. Peter planned to run up the stairs to get his web shooters, but first made the detour to follow his aunt to the entrance to their basement. Since the house was fixed up by Shield, it was practically a fallout shelter.

"May, I need you to promise you'll stay out of the way no matter what," he told her seriously, remembering how she had said she would have bitten the Goblin herself if she had been there.

"Well, of course, honey." She bit her lip. "I know I can't really expect you to be careful, but-"

"I'll try. I always try."

She huffed. "No offense, but that's debatable." Giving him a quick hug, she rushed down the stairs.

As he ran past the living room, Peter saw a tall, muscular man in a skirt entering through the large hole. He didn't look familiar at all. Peter tried to recall the name Strange had said a few moments ago. Set? Seth? He had heard of Seth before, but not Set. Set didn't really sound like a name to him, but it did open up a lot more pun opportunities.

Ava leaped over Peter's head as he ascended the stairs. It took less than five minutes to put his suit on and refill his web shooters. The total distance from the living room, up the stairs, and to his room was about ten meters.

So, if one was curious, Set's velocity was about 0.033 meters per second as he prowled up to Peter's room. Trails of thick, red smoke followed in his wake. Crude and cruel images swirled within it if you stared for long enough. His tan skin glistened, reflecting the red of the smoke. When he opened his mouth, each and every one of his teeth was a sharp fang.

He would deny it and kill you if you said it, but Set was perhaps even more dramatic than Loki.

Peter quickly finished strapping on his second webshooter and backed up against the wall with the window. He really hoped this wasn't like the movies where another monster came in from behind. Looking behind Set, he saw Nova and Ironfist wedged in the hallway, trying to hit Set without touching the red mist. Nova's blasts kept getting absorbed by the smoke.

That wasn't a good sign.

A long, purple tongue flicked out from between the fangs. "_Your death would mean nothing, except for the fact that it will allow me to free Apophis._"

Peter licked his lips. "Harsh. You must be Set. Or was it Seth? I'm not entirely-"

The mist flared around Set furiously. "_You dare to-to-! It doesn't matter. You're dead anyway."_

Peter's spider sense went off and he jumped through the window just as a loud sound of destruction came from behind.

If he weren't so scared for his life, he might have been more upset that his room seemed to have just been destroyed.

"What did I say?" Peter wondered out loud as he landed. He knew better than to wait for an answer though. He also knew that he probably couldn't outrun a god, but he ran anyway.

A wall of sand blew into existence directly in front of him. Peter stopped just in time to prevent himself from being engulfed. There would be no climbing over this wall. The grains were too unstable to stick to.

And then the wall was falling towards him.

Instinctively he began to run away, but his spider sense didn't let him fool himself into thinking that made him safe. The wall was way too tall and way too wide to escape. Looking back, it seemed to grow taller the farther he got. He stopped. Running wasn't doing him any good. What was that other thing he could do now? Transmogrification, right. Shouldn't that be working any second now? His spider sense was still ringing, it knew he was in mortal peril. Had Anansi done something wrong? Was there a waiting period when you got magic? What animal could withstand a sand tsunami anyway?

"I've got you, Webhead!"

Nova flew out of the house. He aimed a blazing hot beam at the mountain of sand, effectively turning it to glass. The sand at the bottom began to disappear, causing the large sheet of glass to slide to the street with a crash. But Peter was ready. He shot a web and swung out of the range of the shards on top of a light post.

"What happened, dude?" Nova asked. "I thought your butt didn't need saving anymore."

"Oh, ha ha. As if I'm supposed to know. Are the others still inside?"

"Yeah."

Every single window on the Parker household blasted out then. White Tiger, Ironfist, Powerman, Fury, and Maria came out with the glass, along with a smattering of small furniture and objects. Peter's heart dropped.

The basement windows had exploded too.

Jumping down, he only ran a few feet before Nova grabbed him and flew the rest of the way. They only flew a few feet when a swarm of locusts converged and solidified into the form of Set to their right. He reached out with both hands, grabbing Sam in one and Peter in the other by their necks. He sneered at Sam.

"_Know that your death will be utterly meaningless, and it would come anyway once I have succeeded."_

Nova let out a shaky laugh, his voice strained. "Mind repeating that in English? Or how about letting me go find a translator?"

Peter frowned, trying to catch a breath. "I don't think that was too hard to understand. This guy isn't too subtle with his death threats."

"And when did you learn gibberi-Augh!"

Set threw Nova over his shoulder. Nova caught himself in midair before he crashed into the neighbor's house. Set lifted Peter closer to his face, rank breath making Peter almost not want to breath. "_If you insist on insulting me with your last words, I shall make sure you don't have many left. Do you recant for a chance of a slightly less agonizing death?"_

Peter gulped, which was rather difficult with the vice grip around his throat. "Okay, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming you're not actually speaking English right now like I thought. And maybe I'm not either. But do you know that you're actually the first killer bad guy that I haven't insulted? At least not on purp-"

The hand tightened. Peter began sputtering.

"_Perhaps you mortals are more perceptive than you seem. I was going to kill you torturously anyway."_

Three thoughts went through Peter's head at nearly the same time, separated by mere nanoseconds.

1- Why did everyone always want to kill him the painful way? He couldn't possibly be that annoying considering how many friends he had. Although they did all complain about him being annoying anyway.

2- Wasn't it too bad that he would never get to figure this magic thing out? He only learned about the language thing less than five seconds ago.

3- How did he always end up in these situations anyway? Spider-Man had started on such a small scale, just stopping petty thefts and minor muggings. Since Shield had picked him up he had saved the world a few times, and he often ended up tangled up in evil plans that required him to be kidnapped or killed. And now this guy was going to kill him to start some ancient form of the apocalypse.

Then thought number 4 squeezed itself into the last few microseconds, slightly separate from the rest:

4- Was he going to get out of this alive? The last time he had come this close to dying he had panicked so much he had unlocked powers he hadn't even known he had. Now that he knew about them (more or less) and his brain was coherent enough to think complete thoughts (also more or else), but not much in the way of life saving plans. Maybe there really wasn't an animal big and sturdy enough to withstand whatever torturous death this Set guy had planned.

Maybe he really was doomed.

* * *

Delphi huddled behind a car, thinking as fast as humanly possible.

Her Third Eye seemed to be a bit sensitive since the forced Vision. She kept catching Glimpses of that horrid future. There were other scenes too, but they weren't quite as clear. Set's success seemed very certain. But that didn't make it absolutely certain.

The question was, what could happen to stop this?

She peeked out behind her hiding spot, noticing the sudden silence. Set was holding up a masked man in a red and blue suit. Delphi supposed it was the same boy she had seen. The suit looked kind of familiar, though she couldn't quite place it right now what with her mind being preoccupied with a million other things. She had to keep reminding herself to stay focused.

For all intents and purposes, it Looked like the end was coming.

What was she, or anyone supposed to do about it?

There were plenty of things they could do, plenty of things Delphi could do. Not a single one of them would work. But they could be done. Maybe she could at least change that part of her Vision, where she was alive. Maybe she should just do something so she could have five seconds of hope, avoid the years of guilt . . .

Set began to laugh wickedly. Delphi knew what was coming. She crouched down again, breathing heavily, covering her ears. She didn't want to See. She didn't want to see. She didn't want to hear.

The boy's screams would have been horrific on their own without Set's laughter going on and on and on . . .

Too late. It was too late.

The world was doomed to destruction.

Delphi was doomed to despair.


	12. Chapter 12: The Future Has Arrived

Chapter 12

**Woo! I managed to finish this right on schedule! And it's one of the longest yet!**

**Aside from that, I'm not going to say anything else because I just know I'll spoil something.**

**Let me know what you think, or if there are any errors (I didn't really get a chance to proofread). If you have any questions, I'll answer them in the epilogue.**

**Without further ado, I bring you . . . The End.**

* * *

In the land of yellow sand and cerulean cacti, where four gods once squabbled, five now argued.

"Come on, please? Pretty please? With little insects on top?"

"I don't wanna."

"You can't just leave us here! You've already come all this way."

"I'm not a taxi!"

"No, you're a bastard and a son of a-"

Loki was cut off by a punch to the jaw. He was thrown flat on his back, groaning. Feeling around with his tongue, he was pretty sure several of his teeth had been knocked out. That was inconvenient, but expected. The offending fist, though covered in fur, was as hard as stone.

The being covered in shining white hair bared his fangs. "Don't you ever call me names again! I am Monkey, the Great Stone Ape, the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven!"

Coyote went over to help Loki up. "Of course you are, Monkey. Loki's just sore about titles because he only has one." She bent her head down to whisper in Loki's ear. "And Monkey's sore about titles because all of his are jokes. Shut your mouth if you want to get out of here."

"When I get home, I'm going to have a stern talking to with my son, Sleipnir," Loki whispered back. "He's a strong steed, he could have taken us all back to earth. But no, he's busy being Odin's little pet. He doesn't appreciate me at all. He never even sends me a card for Father's Day _or _Mother's Day! But I don't care, I only brought him into this worl-"

Coyote put her hand over his mouth. "I do recall telling you to stop talking."

Raven put on her best smile. "Surely there's something we can do for you in return. Something _I_ can do."

Monkey curled his lip in distaste. "I'm a very important Monkey. I've got better things to do. And you've got a God of Travel with you already, although it seems he's been useless."

Loki turned to look at Hermes. He was the only one who hadn't said a word since Monkey had come. That usually meant he was thinking. Sure enough, Hermes had a small smirk playing on his lips. That was a relief. At the very least, Hermes would be the next one to get punched.

"You're right, O Great Sage," Hermes conceded. "But somehow I don't think you could do much better."

"What?!"

"We called you of all the gods because we thought you might be the only one who could get us all out of here. It would be a snap for someone as great as you. But you're refusing, so I can only assume that it's because you can't."

Monkey stepped up right in front of Hermes. The sight was equally impressive and . . . not. The Great Stone Ape was a full head shorter than Hermes. But what he lacked in height he made up for in muscle and fury. If there was any title he did deserve, it was Most Likely to Be Outraged.

"I could get you out of here with both my hands tied behind my back! I am _choosing_ to leave you here because of your insolence!"

Hermes raised one finger and poked Monkey in the chest. "Prove it. Prove you're a better God of Travel than I am. I'll even let you keep the title."

Monkey growled, the sound deep and foreboding. His fingers flexed, seeming torn between a desire to strangle Hermes and a desire to pummel him. Then he bowed forward, ramming his head into Hermes chest.

"Deal."

* * *

Sam watched. He watched because he was a curious mind with no common sense. At least, that's what people said. That's what Peter had said.

Sam watched Peter get burned alive.

It was different from when the Goblin had tried to kill him. Sam saw the flames on Peter, watched them engulf him, begin to eat away at his suit.

Then Set must have cranked up the heat, because the flames became almost too bright to look at, which was saying something considering how often Sam looked at himself when he was Nova.

Sam regretted being so self absorbed.

Sam regretted teasing Peter so much.

Sam regretted blinking. He missed the moment Peter disappeared.

It was at that point, when Peter's screams were gone, that Sam realized his yells had taken their place.

Taking a deep breath, Sam flew around the house to gather everyone, flying them all to the small but relatively more peaceful backyard. They were all okay for the most part. Just cuts and bruises. Luke, of course, had none whatsoever. Maria had gotten a nasty cut on her arm from the shattered glass, but she would be okay. Dr. Strange was still unconscious. Sam didn't know how to feel when he found May. It was a relief to see she just had a few cuts. He didn't say anything as he flew her to where the others were gathered. He didn't say anything to anyone.

"Nova, what happened?" Fury demanded.

Sam didn't answer.

"Where's Set?"

Sam pointed to the front of the house.

"Where's Spider-Man?"

Sam stopped pointing.

May stepped forward, trying to look him in the eye despite his tinted visor. "Where's Peter? Is he okay?"

Sam didn't need to answer at that point.

There was a variety of responses. Luke punched the ground hard enough to nearly get his fist stuck. Danny bowed his head, likely in some sort of silent prayer. Maria looked like she'd been slapped in the face, which for her meant she looked hurt, shocked, and outraged all at the same time. May didn't break into sobs right away. She waited for someone, anyone to prove Sam wrong, looking from face to face. Tears were streaking down her face anyway. Fury gave a single sigh. Strange remained unconsious.

Ava practically dragged Sam a few feet away.

"No offense Sam, but that's exactly what we thought last time. What exactly did you see?"

Sam glanced at May. She was trying to listen. "What did you hear?"

The bottom of Ava's mask moved. She must have been biting her lip. "It was that bad?"

Sam nodded. He didn't need to explain what exactly had been that bad. Anything that sounded that bad was bound not to be good.

Behind them, May began to sob. Sam closed his eyes. He had known that their jobs were dangerous. He had even had an inkling that Peter might be the first of them to die. Everyone had. Between Peter's desire to save every person in trouble, and his penchant for angering every single villain they met so far, it was just sort of the logical conclusion.

But that didn't make it the desired conclusion.

And it sure wasn't supposed to happen like this, by the hand of some god that they didn't even know. Why had Set even wanted to kill him in the first place? Peter hadn't even had a chance to foil one of his plots or annoy him every waking second of battle.

But at least he had saved at least one life. Whatever Peter had said to Set, that was the only reason Sam was here to tell everyone.

Sam decided he ought to stop thinking those thoughts if he wanted to stay relatively calm and collected.

"What on earth _happened_ here?"

Loki did not sound relatively calm and collected.

* * *

Set laughed harder than ever at the arrival of the five gods. The look on their faces was priceless, especially Hermes'. They all exchanged utterly thunderstruck glances.

"What are you even doing here, Seth?" Hermes asked.

Set stopped laughing, teeth grinding. "STOP using the Greek version! I am SET of pure _EGYPTIAN_ blood!"

"And what are you going to do about it? You haven't been able to stop me for over a thousand years!" Hermes stuck out his tongue.

Those words had once caused Set to go into a wordless rage. Now he smiled. "I'm glad you ask." With a flick of his hand, Hermes' tongue tied itself into a knot. "Ah, the fruits of labor are so sweet!"

"_You've_ done labor? I can't imagine it was physical," Raven intoned.

"I doubt simple minds such as yourselves could begin to appreciate my genius plan, but please, be my guest. Take a guess."

Set's face began to hurt from all the smiling. This had to be the best day ever. The scene before him was delicious, and it was only going to get tastier.

Hermes was trying fruitlessly to unravel his tongue. He wouldn't succeed even if he lived until morning. Monkey was picking at his fur, unimpressed. Set would make sure he died with a look of utter shock and terror on his face; his tombstone would be nameless. Loki looked dumbfounded, eyes wandering over the mess of sand and house behind Set. Raven was muttering to Coyote. Soon enough Raven would talk nevermore. Coyote at least seemed rightfully fearful.

"Did you just kill that mortal we've been watching?" Raven asked petulantly.

"Why yes, I did, though that was only a miniscule portion of my plan. My, he had more power than I had hoped." Set flexed his fingers, making sure he absorbed all of the magic left behind. There was a hint of Loki's magic in there. They must have been more interested in this mortal than Set had imagined. That made the magic feel so much tastier.

All of this talk of flavor; Set decided he would grab some chocolate before he destroyed the world. Maybe a rich Black Forest cake, or Tiramisu.

"What do you need extra magic for?" Coyote paused, frowning. "You don't think that will help you free Apophis, do you?"

"I wouldn't, if it were not for the fact that I've been collecting magic for eons at this point."

Loki snapped out of his reverie. "You're bluffing! You can't possibly have enough to combat guardians from all over the world! The mortals have even set up nuclear contingencies now!"

There was a tickle in his head, and Set knew Loki was trying to read his mind. Loki was usually subtler than that. Either he was doing a rush job, or all of this extra magic was really paying off. Set allowed him in for a second.

Loki had never looked so afraid.

With a contented sigh, Set relaxed his face into a small, sinister grin. He was growing tired of words.

It was time to have the fun he'd been dreaming about since he was a little boy.

* * *

The Great Web was completely still. One strand had been quivering violently just seconds ago. It had stopped abruptly. Anansi waited with bated breath, waited to feel if even the slightest shiver might run through the strand.

None did.

Anansi sighed.

Even though it was just one spider of many, one world of many, he couldn't help but feel relieved.

* * *

Hermes was the first one to go.

He was burned and frozen and exploded and eviscerated and mauled and poisoned and turned to stone and electrocuted and dimidiated and . . . There was only one thing Hermes did not experience in his final moments: relief.

Set's schadenfreude was palpable, though he did regret ending it so quickly. He really should have extended it for a few eons, but Apophis couldn't be left waiting.

The others were taken care of immediately as well, if only because they were the only ones who could alert the rest of the world of his plan. As much as he would have enjoyed showing off, Set didn't want to risk losing any of his hard earned magic.

And there was something quite satisfying about catching the entire world off guard.

The street now glowed with gods' blood. A group of mortals in odd costumes came out of hiding and started yelling at him. They were the same ones he had seen in the house before. Set might have let them die at Apophis' hands, but he was struck by inspiration. He put his hands together and pulled them apart.

The display of flying innards was beautiful in itself, the forms rendered unrecognizable and indistinguishable. The gallons of blood flowed like melted chocolate, flowing with the blood of the gods. They did not mix well, it was like oil and water, but that's what made it picturesque. The shimmering metallic colors floated on top of the deep red. The contrast was stunning. Set allowed himself a moment to sit, stare, and reflect before he plucked some of Loki's remaining magic from the air to teleport himself to Cleopatra's Needle. He took the hidden Delphi with him. Her face was wet. Set had never understood the human concept of tears of joy.

Apophis was free within the minute.

England fell first as Apophis broke away from his bonds. His very movement caused earthquakes, bringing down London and the surrounding area. His roars caused what might have been the first tsunamis to hit France and the Scandinavian shores.

As soon as he was entirely free, Egypt and the rest of Africa were plunged into plagues and mass destruction. The pyramids fell. The Sphynx briefly came to life to terrorize the tourists, but it didn't take long for something that large to eat a few thousand people. It turned to dust too.

Set took pride in advising Apophis to go to the Americas next, Hollywood specifically. Unfortunately, Apophis didn't savor his meals, but Set enjoyed his hour of screentime. 100 million views encompassed most of what was left of the population at that point.

Since they had almost a day's warning, the Asians were prepared. Or rather, they considered themselves ready. The barrage of missiles, atomic bombs, chemical and magical warfare was impressive to Set. It was nothing to Apophis.

Then, in the barren wastes of Earth, the gods fought Apophis. That was even more impressive. Lightning flared, the ground shook, the ocean swelled, lava flowed. Some surviving heroes tried to join in the fight, but they were lizards in a dinosaur fight. The battle looked like a difficult one, but Set knew better than to doubt Apophis. He was destined to destroy everything.

Hm, but Earth wasn't everything anymore, was it? Set couldn't quite recall. He had never really payed attention to the humans called scientists, and he had stopped listening to them at all since they began thinking the Earth revolved around the Sun.

Set didn't like the idea of revolving around Ra.

"Delphi," he asked from his throne, leaning over the side so he could see her on her stool at the base of his twenty-foot obelisk. Set always like to be reminded of the mortal who had made all of this possible; he loved the irony of it. "Is there anyone else out there?"

She didn't look up. She had always been smart, rarely meeting his eyes. "Just a few dozen people that have managed to stay out of sight. No one really important."

"No, not out there, out _there_, in the sky."

There was a pause. "You mean . . . space?"

"Yeah, whatever it's called. Is there more life out there?"

"I only ever Saw Apophis destroying Earth. You would be entering unknown territory."

Set hummed thoughtfully. "You mean anything he does out there would be because of his greatness, not some prophecy?"

"Unless there are greater entities out there."

"Don't you know?"

Delphi let out a small huff. "I haven't Seen much of anything since you freed Apophis." Then her voice grew hard. "At least, not anything that he hasn't already done."

"It has been hard to focus on anything else, hasn't it?" Set looked out a window, watching Apophis swallow Thor whole. He hoped he didn't get indigestion. "Why don't you take a moment to Look, hm? I'll wait." The scene before him was making him hungry. "Nephthys! I want some food!"

A few minutes later, Nephthys entered with a bowl of grapes. She fed him one by one. They were scrumptious, as always. But Nephthys never talked anymore. Set found he missed her conversations, but he usually didn't listen anyway.

The grapes were halfway done when Delphi spoke again. Her voice was cracked. "I-I can't See anything past tomorrow, Lord Set. I think . . . I think, being mortal, my Visions are . . . were tied-tied to Earth."

Set swallowed another grape. "That's too bad. But there is life out there, right?"

"I-I was never sure. There were always claims of aliens . . . People liked to think—"

"I'm bored! Things are winding down here. That's the problem with apocalypses. It's so easy to destroy things it hardly takes any time at all. Apophis is getting restless too. He's making an extravagant deal out of every measly god he comes across now." A grin was already forming on Set's face. "Won't he be happy to know there's hope out there? There might be more things to kill, more civilizations to squash!"

Delphi's voice wavered. She must be crying tears of joy about this now too. Humans were always so easy to please. "But-but what if they're more than Apophis can handle?"

"Apophis wouldn't have been destined to destroy the world if he wasn't capable of it," Set replied. He paused. He had never thought about that before, but it was so true. Apophis had always had the power, he had just needed the opportunity.

And this space sounded like an even bigger opportunity.

Set began to laugh. Nothing could stop Apophis! Nothing! He couldn't stop laughing at the beauty of that. Nephthys threw the bowl of grapes in his face. He didn't mind. Everything was going so perfectly. He just licked the liquid off with his long, purple tongue. He called out to Apophis, telling him his new plan. Apophis cheered, crushing the last few gods left.

Set rose in the air. Apophis opened up a portal. It wouldn't take long at all to check every planet. The thrill of exploration filled Set. With one final look at the work he had done on Earth, he stepped forward and—

* * *

And Set disappeared into the portal.

Everyone breathed again.

"You enjoyed that more than Set, didn't you?"

"Maybe," was the noncommittal reply.


	13. Chapter 13: Don't Worry

Chapter 13: Don't Worry

**I am just sitting here in shock right now, because I managed to finish this right on time. And it is the longest chapter yet by a few hundred words. When I first started writing this, I had told myself I was going to post a new chapter every week, but I hadn't actually expected to _succeed_. ****I'm just in complete and utter shock.**

**And I managed to confuse you all! Although I must admit that NodMPortant came very close in their guess. It's pretty much the truth. Congratulations! You get a virtual thumbs up!**

**I did my best to tie up every loose end I found. But please let me know if you have any further questions, or spot something I missed.**

**So . . . without further ado . . .**

* * *

Monkey huffed, almost a disbelieving laugh, but not quite. "Don't deny it. You know you enjoyed most of it. I know I would've enjoyed it."

"Yes, well, Helheim . . . I can't believe that worked."

Loki collapsed mere seconds after Set disappeared through the portal. It took a lot to exhaust a god. Hermes hadn't seen any deities exhaust themselves since Zeus had hosted that toga party a few years prior. Hermes knew that what Loki had done was huge, he just had no idea of what he had actually done.

And his tongue was still tied, so he couldn't even ask.

"That was crazy!" Coyote exclaimed. She rushed over to Loki, kneeling beside him. "What were you thinking?"

"Not much, to be honest," Loki replied weakly. "That's what happens when you're reading two teenagers' minds while trying to formulate a plan to save your skin." He lifted his head up to look at her. "Would you mind helping a handsome guy out?"

Coyote and Raven smiled. "Not at all!"

Coyote stood and went to Hermes, flexing her fingers. Raven skipped over to where Set had stood and began chanting a resonating mantra in a variety of Native American languages. Monkey stayed where he was, examining his fingernails. He nearly looked entirely unflappable, except his fur was nearly standing on end and his eyes were much wider than they usually were.

"That's just cruel!" Loki let his head fall back to the ground. "I just saved all of your lives!"

"Which you wouldn't have been able to do if we hadn't distracted Set so well," Coyote countered. She struggled a bit to keep Hermes still. "I mean, really, you could have given us a little warning. If Raven and I hadn't caught on so quickly Set would have killed us in worse ways than even you can imagine. Although . . ." She paused thoughtfully as she yanked Hermes' last bit of tongue out of the knot. "I suppose you did do a pretty good job of simulating the apocalypse. Set looked happy."

"Bleh." Hermes massaged his tongue. He had never had a dental procedure done in his life, but he was pretty sure this what it felt like to have your tongue numbed. "What 'oo you mean imula'e? Ih tha' wha' he 'id?"

"What's that, old chum?" Loki asked from his spot on the ground. "I didn't quite hear you."

Hermes usually ignored Loki when he got like this, but he just had to know. "I 'aid -"

"What happened here?"

Nick Fury limped to the front yard. His eye roved over the scene menacingly. White Tiger, Nova, Powerman, and Maria Hill were close behind. Their gaze was more flabbergasted than anything else.

Monkey straightened up. "I just saved the world."

"What?!" Loki, Coyote, and Hermes cried, though Hermes missed the 't' sound at the end.

"I brought you here at just the right moment, didn't I? You wouldn't have been able to do anything if I hadn't helped you out. Hence I saved the world." He lifted his chin smugly. "That's another title to add to the list: Saviour of the World. Or should it just be the Saviour? Ooh, maybe the Mightiest Hero?"

"Wonderful," Fury said dryly. "What did the rest of you witness? Where is Set now?"

Loki propped himself up on an elbow. "No need to worry anymore. Set is currently in the Sun."

Fury didn't even raise an eyebrow. "How long will that hold him?"

"A good few thousand years. Ra won't let him go until he's drained all of his extra magic. Although I hope Set hasn't gotten too powerful." Loki turned to Monkey. "Oh Great Hero, Mightiest on this Earth, will you ensure the safety of the world by alerting all the Head Gods of Set's location?"

"Never fear, I've got this." And Monkey cartwheeled away.

Loki snickered. "Wow, that was easy."

"So that's it?" White Tiger asked. "No more imminent apocalypse?"

"Well, that I need to check. There's a girl sneaking away behind that blue car. She can give you the answer."

Nova flew over and retrieved the girl in question. She thrashed in his grip until she was deposited in the middle of the lawn. Heavily lidded eyes watched everyone warily.

"Hi!" Loki said brightly. "The name's Loki. I just read your mind a few minutes ago. You gave me a really good idea of what the apocalypse should look like. You're an Augur, right?"

She nodded slowly.

"Can you See if what you Saw is still going to happen?"

"It's not. I can't See Apophis destroying the world at all, ever. It almost feels like it happened, but it didn't." She sounded almost horrified. "What did you do?"

Everyone stared at Loki expectantly. He smiled.

"I'm sorry, I'm just really enjoying the attention right now. Now I see why Thor likes to save the world so much. Okay, let me try being humble." He cleared his throat in the near-silence (Raven was still chanting to the side). "All I did was get into Set's mind. He foolishly let me in without putting up any barriers, amateur's mistake, so I began manipulating his senses so that he thought he experienced freeing Apophis and killing everyone. Then I had him deliver himself to Ra. Genius, am I right? I already thanked Delphi for the visuals. But I also need to thank the spider kid; I found the basis of the idea when I read his mind. Let's not forget I fleshed it out and implemented it though."

Sam's fists clenched. "Yeah? Well you're a bit late for that."

Loki got his other elbow up and twisted onto his stomach so he was in the archetypal girl pose with his head on his hands and his feet in the air. "Am I now?"

"You think? He's gone! You lost your little pet-project! But maybe you popped out of thin air after he was _burned_ to a _crisp_!"

Ava's head tilted to the side. Her words weren't as savage as she had originally meant. "But they must have gotten here before. How else would he be able to read Pete's mind unless it was still . . . working?"

Sam's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. "But I didn't see them, and I think I would have noticed _them_."

The team exchanged glances.

"Then how . . .?" Ava pressed, turning to Loki.

Loki blew some hair out of his face and blinked up at them. "Isn't that a good question? How? I'm actually wondering the same thing. I think Raven has the answer by now, so you can stop glaring at me now. Heroes aren't supposed to pick on a poor guy while he's down, right?"

The team stopped advancing to look at the woman in black who was now kneeling in the grass with her palms pressed into the earth. She stopped chanting on a finished cadence and took a breath. When she spoke, it wasn't the playful cackle she used when she first met the mortals.

"You're lucky I work fast. Just bear in mind that it was magic fire and I can only do so much about that. I need a second to coax him back into his normal form."

Raven closed her eyes. Her hands glowed a gentle green.

And then there was red and blue beneath her fingers.

"Pe-!" Sam and Luke began, but Ava shushed them both as they rushed forward.

"He's still alive guys! That means he still has a secret identity to keep!"

"But didn't you-?"

"Stop right there!" Raven screeched, spreading her arms out. "I healed him as best as I could, but he's still injured. There might be scarring in some areas."

Now that they had a closer look, they understood. There were patches of raw skin visible through patches of the suit that had been burned away. All in all he looked intact, much more intact than Sam had hoped for.

"He's okay?"

Raven nodded.

"So you protected him from the flames?"

She shook her head. "This boy deserves more props than Loki said. You were right that we arrived afterwards, even if it was just by seconds. He saved his own life. That's the only reason Loki was able to read his mind in the first place." Her black lips curled into a comforting smile. "If you're wondering how, it was through transmogrification. He transformed into a water bear shortly after Set started the flames. Quite smart of him."

Sam, Luke, and Ava continued to stare blankly at her.

"You know, a tardigrade? They're little microscopic organisms that are super durable. They can even live in space."

"Oh!" Luke exclaimed. "I remember he told me about them once! They can survive extreme temperatures! Sweet Christmas! Leave it to Spidey to use a weird science fact to save the world!" He clapped Sam and Ava on their shoulders. "Sam, go get May and Ironfist. They'll want to see this."

Laughing, Sam saluted him and flew off.

Ava sat down next to Peter. "Will he wake up soon?"

The reassuring smile never left Raven's lips. "It won't be too long. He would have been awake by now, but Anansi seems to have invited him for a conversation."

"Another one? I guess he wants to know what happened too."

* * *

_**Ah, my little Spider, I'm so glad that happened exactly the way it did. You did such an excellent job.**_

Peter blinked, looking around. He was back at the Great Web. What was that supposed to mean? Was he dead? He felt like he was probably still alive. He couldn't be sure though.

_**You are alive and well in both the earthly plane and this one.**_

Okay, that's good. I wasn't even sure what I was doing, let alone if I did it on time. Peter took a breath, grateful for it no matter the logistics behind the ether. So I'm just a little microscopic thing back there? I hope I don't get blown miles away on the wind or something. Will Set know that he didn't really kill me?

_**I'm afraid you're a bit behind the times. Set has been taken care of and you have been healed of most serious wounds and returned to your human form.**_

Really? Were the others able to stop him? Are they all right?

_**They are fine. There are a few bumps and cuts, but those are less than nothing compared to the alternative.**_

So Strange was right about the apocalypse thing. What did that have to do with me though?

_**Ah . . . **_There was a timber to Anansi's words that sounded almost apologetic. _**I must confess. I was a little more sure about my warnings than I let on. As I might have mentioned, you begin to see the patterns of life after a few millennia. But then it doesn't really take a genius to put the pieces together when a powerful being keeps hunting for powerful artifacts and whispering about his plans in his sleep. It's hard not to notice such things when you're always watching.**_

To be honest, I don't care how you figured it out. I'm just glad you were willing to lend a hand. Albeit a very vague one.

_**One can never be too careful when messing with Time. It's like that saying from earth, you might have heard it on your own earth: too many chefs spoil the stew. I've watched many of my Spiders try to twist Fate. Whenever they overthink things they always end up falling right into the path that leads to the future they're trying to prevent. Considering all of the people you would tell, I feared the same thing might happen to you.**_

I guess that makes sense. I'm pretty sure I've fallen for traps set up like that. A lot of them, now that I think about it. But how did you know that Set would go after me? Did you give me magic just to use me as bait?

Peter doubted it was a good idea to be angry at such a powerful being, but if that was true-

_**Of course not. I am not cruel. I knew Set had been eyeing my amulet for a few decades. He sensed its Radical Power. Though he didn't quite understand it, he knew it was perfect to defy the odds to free Apophis. I considered setting you to guard it, but then you began to unlock your own Radical Power and . . . well, I wouldn't say I got carried away, but I did put a lot of thought into this.**_

You mean you planned for this months ago?!

_**To some extent, yes.**_

So you gave me these powers to survive Set's attack?

_**Yes.**_

Even the language thing? I'm fairly certain Set wasn't speaking English.

**I did say that magic can do unexpected things in Radicals. Although I must say it helped. Set might not have used something as simple as fire if you hadn't made him so furious.**

And then . . . what? What stopped Set after that? I didn't miss an epic battle, did I?

_**Not at all. Loki took care of everything quite nicely. I must say he did better than I had hoped. I had expected him to start a fight with a large amount of collateral damage, but I suppose he was right when he said he was inspired by your thoughts.**_

Peter thought that if he had been in his physical body, he would have choked on his own breath, or perhaps fainted. Oh, okay, great, just give me a second to wrap my mind around that.

_**There will be plenty of time for that, young one. Your world should be safe for many more years to come. May I ask what you might have been thinking before I brought you here? I may see all, but I never had the ability to read minds.**_

I thought you were reading my mind right now.

_**No, we are conversing through thoughts now, that much is true, but neither of us is reading the mind of the other. The Great Web allows for Spiders' thoughts to be projected, resonated, and received. **_Anansi chuckled. _**By no fault of your own, you tend to project all of your thoughts. So what were you thinking that caught Loki's attention?**_

Peter tried to focus his thoughts on the question. Perhaps his aunt was right when she called him an open book.

I don't know. I wasn't really thinking coherently at the time. I kind of remember thinking how unfair it is, these prophecies. I know Asgard has a doomsday prophecy, and I've heard rumors of others at Shield. It just didn't seem fair, or even logical, that there should be so many ways the world will end. It's not like they can all really happen. One would destroy the world, and then what happens to the rest? They can't still happen, can they?

There was a deep silence on the Great Web. Peter wondered what Loki might have made of those thoughts. They didn't seem all that profound, just a critique. It wasn't like he really knew anything about prophecies. Movies made it seem like Time could only go one way. Although science proved that Time might be able to twist and turn. Maybe there was some way for Time to tie itself into a knot to allow all the right people to destroy the world as they wished.

That was a rather depressing thought.

_**That is not depressing at all! **_Anansi's not-voice sounded louder after the silence. _**Ah, I see it now! Very clever! Very clever indeed! **_The web shook slightly as an appreciative laugh filled the ether. _**My goodness, that sounds like something I might have come up with myself. I pick my Spiders carefully, but every so often even I am surprised by your ingenuity.**_

Um . . . thank you.

Peter hoped that someday he would better understand when he was being complimented and when he was being made fun of.

_**That was praise, and very high praise at that. I would have lost an entire universe if it wasn't for you. Now I suppose you would like to go home.**_

Peter tried very hard not to wonder if his thoughts were blushing.

Yes, please.

_**Farewell, Spider. I hope to watch your world for many years more. You have done well today.**_

* * *

Peter would have woken slowly, one stage at a time.

But then there was yelling, and he recognized the voice, and his eyes snapped open.

"Don't you DARE give me that!" May had her fists balled at her side. She stalked forward, looking ready to punch someone, but a shimmering barrier appeared and blocked her path. "If you'd been nearly as interested in my nephew as you said you were, you would have been able to stop all of this before it even happened! Disaster averted my foot! You were one wrong move away from the literal end of days!"

Peter began trying to push himself up, ignoring how sore and achy his entire body felt. He found he was in what was left of his living room. A myriad of various pillows had been placed beneath him to keep him away from the glass shard strewn floor. The sofa was upside down and stuck in one wall.

He was finding it hard to believe that there hadn't been an epic battle.

It almost could have been blamed on the mess, but the room was even more crowded than it had been earlier. Loki and the other gods had joined them. Peter supposed that was to be expected considering that Anansi had said Loki had saved the day. Speaking of Loki, he was the only other person lying on the floor. Only a blanket had been placed beneath him with a single pillow to support his head. Everyone else was standing, watching May. It appeared that she had tried to punch Loki. She was glaring at him shrewdly now.

"You already said you didn't save Peter. He saved himself. You might have saved the world, but Peter is _my_ world, and you weren't here for him."

There was definitely a blush on Peter's face now.

"I won't argue with that," Loki replied in an appeasing tone. "I'm just saying that Set would have eventually noticed that he hadn't actually killed him. The kid saved himself, but I made sure he stayed safe. It's not like I'm taking credit for his life. I'm just the guy who saved the world, after all."

At this point Peter couldn't help but laugh. All eyes suddenly turned to him, but May was the first at his side. She hugged him gently.

"Oh, honey, I'm so glad you're all right! You are okay, right? Does anything hurt? I can get you a heating pad, or some water."

"I'm fine, just a bit achy. Were you just admonishing a god for being irresponsible?"

"Well, Mr. Fury is busy debriefing Dr. Strange. He's been awake for a few minutes. He might not have done much, but at least Strange was here to help."

May released him, and Peter looked up at everyone else. Everyone looked happy, if not downright amused. The bird-looking woman and the woman in fur were stifling back laughs. Hermes was doing a fairly good job of toning down his smile. All of Peter's teammates had taken off their masks and helmets. They looked relieved, if not a bit tired. Maria Hill came next to May. She smiled wryly.

"Let us know when you're going to escape death last minute, okay?"

"Sorry if I worried y—"

"Ah, ah," May interrupted him. "What did I tell you? When it comes to our lives, we ought to expect some trouble. But when you worry you make it double."

Peter felt a smile coming onto his own face. "Don't worry, b—"

"Be happy! Oh, I love that song!"

Everyone stared disbelievingly at Loki. Hermes sighed.

"Really, Loke? You just totally ruined the mood in here. I was already imagining the song starting to play for some end credits or something."

Peter shook his head. "There can't be end credits now. Something else is probably going to pop up by tomorrow."

May raised an eyebrow. "Not if I can help it. You're going to enjoy a nice long interlude before you go running off to save the world again."

"Aw, May!"

"Don't you 'aw, May' me! I just want your story to be as long as possible."

Everyone else began laughing quietly. Peter glared up at them. "May, you're embarrassing me in front of my friends _and_ four immortal gods!"

"I think you can survive some embarrassment at this point. You'll live, and that's all that matters to me."

Danny nodded. "Those that go gold into the furnace will come out no worse."

Peter debated retorting that it was still torture, but decided not to.

He was alive when he could have been a shriveled husk by now.

The world was alive when it could have been a shriveled husk by now.

It was hard not to be happy.

It was hard not to feel like gold.

* * *

**Fin!**

** . . . for now.**

**Thank you to all readers and reviewers! I'm glad to have entertained you!**

**If anyone is interested, I'm going to focus on posting some one-shots over the winter-break. Hopefully by the new year I'll have a massive buffer for my other stories. I've got plans for both Ultimate Spider-Man and MCU Spider-Man. Actual plans, not just flying by the seat of my pants. They'll be more serious and angsty than Anansesem, and probably a bit more logical too.**


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